Tony Brown reveals Scott Robertson’s desperate late attempt before All Blacks sacking
Springboks assistant coach Tony Brown and an inset of ex-All Blacks boss Scott Robertson
Springboks assistant coach Tony Brown says that he remains committed to the Springboks and plans to ‘honour’ his contract.
Rassie Erasmus recruited the former All Blacks fly-half to run South Africa’s attack following the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and the move has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on the men in Green and Gold.
The news of Scott Robertson’s sacking as All Blacks head coach has led to speculation linking Brown with a return to New Zealand, particularly if Jamie Joseph is named as the new boss.
Erasmus took to social media to dispel the rumours, and Brown has confirmed that his loyalties remain with the Springboks and that he plans to see out the remainder of his contract, which runs through to the end of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
He said as much in an interview with NewsTalk ZB when asked for his reaction to Robertson’s sacking.
“Yeah, it’s pretty bizarre, the timing around what’s happened, and no sort of plan going forward,” he remarked.
“My name is getting thrown in there plenty, but no one’s really talked to me. So I’ve always just been going back to South Africa to finish my contract, and happily so.”
While he remains committed to seeing out his contract with the Springboks, Brown openly expressed his desire to coach the All Blacks one day.
Scott Robertson’s offer
In fact, the 51-year-old was given the opportunity to do so late last year, as he revealed that Robertson made an attempt to lure him back to Aotearoa, possibly at the time when Jason Holland’s departure from his role in the coaching team was confirmed.
In an interview with The Post, he stated that he doesn’t have an ‘out’ of his contract with SA Rugby. Still, he didn’t entertain Robertson’s offer.
While he is happy to be working with the Springboks, he admits that he is frustrated that New Zealand Rugby and the All Blacks didn’t reach out two years ago after he left his position with Japan.
“100% yes,” he replied when asked if he would ‘bite someone’s hand off’ to work with the All Blacks, if he wasn’t employed with the Boks.
“I would have two years ago as well, and in the future, it’s definitely something I want to do.
“Just the timing hasn’t worked. My commitment to South Africa was for four years, and I’ve always had the plan to honour that commitment.
“Yeah, it’s very frustrating [that timing hasn’t worked out].
“I’ve even talked to Razor a couple of months ago about potentially joining the All Blacks, but it’s like I said to him, my commitment to South Africa was four years, and I’ve always wanted to honour that. And I said, I’m just so frustrated that no one talked to me two years ago.
“But that’s rugby, that’s coaching, and he had his coaches, and I just had to go and find another job.”
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Frustration with New Zealand Rugby
When Ian Forster made it clear that he would not be re-applying for his job after the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Robertson and Joseph were the two main candidates for the position.
The two coaches were tasked with putting together a potential backroom team as part of the application process, and Brown featured on Joseph’s shortlist, with the pair working together previously at the Highlanders and Japan.
Asked if New Zealand Rugby should have spoken to him at the time, when the decision was made to back Robertson, to gauge his interest, Brown replied: “Who knows?
“It was definitely the Scott Robertson team versus Jamie Joseph’s team. That’s the process that New Zealand Rugby set up.
“So I think, with me being with Jamie, Scott potentially didn’t want to take me as well. He had quality coaches, including Jason Holland, Leon MacDonald, Scott Hansen, and Jason Ryan, so they had a strong coaching team. Jamie put his team together, and I was part of that.
“The New Zealand Rugby Union went with Scott, who probably deserved the job with his success. So it was just the way it was.”
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Rassie’s call
This left Brown on the job market, and when Erasmus called, he had to answer.
“Then I was stuck, either looking at going back to Japan, and there’s a little opportunity with Argentina, and then Rassie gave me a call around South Africa. I played under Rassie for the Stormers and knew him as a coach,” he added.
“He’d obviously done some amazing things over the last two World Cups, and I just thought, ‘Wow, what an opportunity to learn from him’.”
