'It's something I want': Bok coach spoke to Razor about All Black job
NEWS: Tony Brown admits he would have been all in for the All Blacks job.
The Springbok attack coach was firmly in the mix during the 2023 All Blacks coaching race, aligned with Jamie Joseph’s bid to land the top job. But the process, as Brown tells it, was effectively split down the middle from the outset.
“It was definitely the Scott Robertson team versus the Jamie Joseph team – that was the process that New Zealand Rugby set up,” Brown told Newstalk ZB.
Once Brown committed to Joseph’s camp, the door to Robertson’s ticket effectively closed.
“So I think with me being with Jamie, then Scott potentially didn’t want to take me as well,” Brown said. “He had quality coaches in Jason Holland and Leon MacDonald, Scott Hansen and Jason Ryan, so they had a strong coaching team.”
Joseph assembled his own staff. Brown was part of it. New Zealand Rugby chose Robertson – a decision Brown openly acknowledges was deserved, given Robertson’s success.
But when the dust settled, Brown was left without a seat when the music stopped.
“Jamie put his team together, and I was part of that, and New Zealand Rugby went with Scott. 100 percent, he probably deserved the job with his success.”
What followed was a crossroads moment. Japan and Argentina were options. Then Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus called.
“It was just the way it was,” Brown said. “And then I was stuck… and then Rassie gave me a call about South Africa.”
That call changed everything.
Brown knew Erasmus well from their Stormers days. He knew the environment. He knew the pedigree. Most importantly, he knew the opportunity.
“I just thought, oh well, what an opportunity to go and learn off him.”
The result was a four-year commitment to the Springboks – one Brown has no intention of breaking, even as the All Blacks’ job has again become a live topic.
Brown has spoken to Robertson since, including a conversation just a few months ago about potentially joining the All Blacks setup. But the answer didn’t change.
“My commitment to South Africa was four years, and I’ve always wanted to honour that.”
There is, however, a frustration about when conversations did or didn’t happen.
“I’m just so frustrated that no one talked to me two years ago,” Brown admitted. “But that’s rugby, and that’s coaching. He had his coaches, and I just had to go and find another job.”
Brown isn’t closing the door on New Zealand. He’s simply respecting the one he’s already walked through.
Would he put his name forward for the All Blacks role?
“One hundred percent would have,” Brown said. “Two years ago as well, and in the future. It’s definitely something I want to do. The timing just hasn’t worked.”
For now, New Zealand’s loss is South Africa’s gain.
And it may make Brown an even stronger candidate when the timing finally does align.
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