Taranaki skipper Mitch Brown leads team into uncharted championship waters

Mitch Brown is the new captain of Taranaki. The team's first championship match is against Counties-Manukau on Saturday. It will be the lock/loose forward's only previous experience as a captain. He will slot into lock position and play 6-8 for the team. Taransaki were relegated to the championship division for 2019 for first time. The TAB has the side $2.40 to win the competition and $1.55 to beat Countries- manukua. They are not favourites. Last year the fans stuck by the players through tough times.