Tony Brown has been appointed head coach of the Highlanders for the 2017 Super Rugby season.

The 41-year-old former All Blacks flyhalf will take over from Jamie Joseph, who will become Japan’s head coach at the end of the 2016 Super Rugby campaign.

Brown, who has been assistant coach at the Highlanders since 2014, will be assisted by Scott McLeod, who has signed a contract extension with the franchise until 2019, and Mark Hammett, who is currently the head coach of the Sunwolves.

However, Brown’s appointment is only for the 2017 season as he will head to Japan in 2018 to take up a role with the national team.

“We are delighted with this appointment,’ said Highlanders CEO Roger Clark. ‘We said at the outset that we were looking to replace Jamie Joseph with a proven coach with a successful track record and we certainly believe Tony fits that description.

'Ideally we would have liked his appointment to be longer, however we are excited by the coaching group we have appointed for 2017 and are confident we will find a quality replacement for Tony in the time frame we have available.’

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