[6] His first involvement with Canterbury's senior side came in 2014 when he played 4 times, twice from the start and twice as a replacement as the men from Christchurch reached the ITM Cup Premiership semi-finals before losing out to local rivals, Tasman.
[2] Despite only being aged 21 and having no provincial experience, a front-row injury crisis for Christchurch-based Super Rugby franchise, the Crusaders midway through the 2014 season saw him receive an unexpected call up.
He was an unused substitute for the Crusaders home match against the Hurricanes on 28 April, but made his Super Rugby debut the following week as his side defeated the Lions 28–7 in Johannesburg.
[7][8] He made 2 substitute appearances in total throughout the year, but was unable to secure a contract with any of New Zealand's 5 Super Rugby franchises for 2015, however, injuries once more provided him an opportunity and this time it was one he would take.
[2] Tony Brown replaced the Japan bound Jamie Joseph as the Highlanders head coach ahead of the 2017 Super Rugby season and he retained Lienert-Brown in the squad for his first campaign in charge.