 Lienert-Brown replaced Crotty off the bench in home victories over Argentina and South Africa, before overtaking Malakai Fekitoa as Crotty's midfield partner in the absence of Williams.Lienert-Brown established this when he made the second start of his career in the second test against Argentina on 1 October 2016, scoring the opening try (the first of his international career) and lasting the whole 80 minutes of the All Blacks' 36-17 victory.Lienert-Brown started another five times in 2016, scoring the second try of his international career in the third Bledisloe Cup test against Australia before being replaced by Fekitoa in the 62nd minute of the All Blacks' 37-10 win over the Wallabies.