VIDEO: What the Brown package in the Bok arsenal can deliver

VIDEO: Springbok assistant coach Tony Brown can open up the eyes of the national team’s backline players, according to coach Rassie Erasmus.

When Brown, an All Black, was appointed assistant coach to the world champions, some eyebrows raised in surprise.

Brown is one of the more innovative minds in attacking play and his contribution to the Springbok team, which is known to be a dangerous counter-attacking unit, may be the right fit.

The Springboks had their first week of the national training camp in Pretoria last week.

Erasmus, in a post-camp debrief, said he was satisfied with the way the new recruits and new coaches blended as they prepare for the Test against Wales at Twickenham on June 22.

“I’ve known Tony [Brown] for a long time,” Erasmus said.

“I coached him at the Stormers.

“I know he is the kind of guy, and he did slot in quickly,” Erasmus added.

He also spoke about Brown’s knowledge of the South African landscape.

“He played for the Sharks and the Stormers, he knows South Africa. He knows how we think.”

“Tony has experience that not a lot of guys have – from [his time in] Japan, but also in New Zealand.

“The All Blacks remain one of the top-ranked teams.

“So he brings a lot of excitement and knowledge.

“It can open some of our backline players’ eyes to opportunities and utilising and using opportunities,” Erasmus said.

Jerry Flannery, another of the new assistant coaches at the Springbok, also got a mention from the head coach.

“Jerry [Flannery] coached with Felix [Jones] at Munster.

“He is typical, hours and hours in front of the computer, very much in the mould of Jacques [Nienaber].

“He can bring one or two exciting things to our defence system.”

Erasmus said, reflecting on the past few months since the first alignment camp, it was important to bring together all the elements in time.

“The challenge is always how quickly can we bring all of those things together to work in a big Test match.

“Also Paddy [Sullivan] who was our technical analyst in France and helped us out.

“He will be with us from next week,” Erasmus confirmed.

Jaco Peyper, who has retired from active refereeing, was appointed as the Laws and Discipline Advisor to the Springbok team.

Erasmus said having a referee with that kind of experience around with every training session, was valuable.

“I think having Peyps there for every training session, every scrum session, every line-out session.

“We are almost used to having a referee here who last year could’ve refereed the World Cup Final.

“So the new people in the management team are contributing in a way we want them to.”

Erasmus said he was very pleased with how the first week of the national training camp in Pretoria went.

“It has been an extremely productive week on the field, and we are pleased with the quality of our training sessions and how the new players have grasped our systems and slotted in at training,” said Erasmus.

“It was also fantastic to see how the more experienced players took them under their wing and assisted them during training.

“The Stormers players arrived on Wednesday and immediately made their presence felt at training.

“With a good balance of youth and experience in the squad we will be in a good position to select a quality squad for the Wales Test, and although we plan to blood a few youngsters next week.

“We are determined to kick-start the season under this new era on a good note and set a strong tone for the Test series [against Ireland], starting July 6.”

Springbok Management:
Rassie Erasmus: Head Coach
Charles Wessels: Team Manager
Mzwandile Stick: Assistant Coach
Daan Human: Assistant Coach
Deon Davids: Assistant Coach
Tony Brown: Assistant Coach
Jerry Flannery: Assistant Coach
Andy Edwards: Head of Athletic Performance
Sebastian Prim: Sport Scientist
Paddy Sullivan: Performance Analyst
Lindsay Weyer: Technical Analyst
Jaco Peyper: Laws and Discipline Advisor
Dr Jerome Lehlogonolo Mampane: Team Doctor
Dr Aneurin Robyn: Physiotherapist
Rene Naylor: Physiotherapist
JJ Fredericks: Logistics Manager
Zintsika Tashe: Operations Manager
Zeena Isaacs van Tonder: Media Manager