Attack coach Tony Brown reckons his approach with the Springboks starts with whose available, then builds around momentum, speed and space to find a way to succeed.
The former All Blacks playmaker joined the Boks after the 2023 World Cup, tasked by Rassie Erasmus with diversifying their attacking game.
He has contributed to back-to-back Rugby Championship titles, successive unbeaten end-of-year tours and a Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series win over his countrymen.
Speaking in part one of a wide-ranging interview on the Plumtree Uncut Podcast, Brown unpacked his coaching philosophy and how he has evolved his methods.
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“It’s always been about trying to find a way to win,” he told former Sharks coach John Plumtree and ex-assistant Grant Bashford.
“You’ve got to obviously look at the personnel you’ve got and work out where your strengths and weaknesses are, then work out a style of game from an attacking point of view that’s going to work for those players and that team.
“It’s always a challenge … But trying to find ways to win, and trying to inspire the players to play a certain way that’s going to allow us to win more games than we lose, is always what excites me about being a coach.”
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The ex-Japan and Highlanders assistant coach emphasised the fundamentals he pinpoints from the coaches’ box as a match unfolds.
“I think you have to be adaptable, but if I was to boil it down to three key things: momentum, speed and space. If you can achieve those three things on the rugby field, you’re always going to be quite a dominant rugby team.
“On the defensive side, you’ve got to obviously stop momentum, stop speed and shut down space. Not losing the gain line is massive.
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“Being able to always dominate the gain line creates space for the players to attack. And then, if you’ve got speed and skill, you can do some pretty good things on the rugby field.”
He also shared how playing for the Sharks, and then the Stormers, laid the groundwork for him accepting the Bok job in 2024.
“I’ve always been pretty lucky with where things have taken me. Coming to South Africa in 2006 is probably the reason why I’m here now, because two years later Rassie gave me a call to go to the Stormers in 2008, and that’s where I met him for the first time.
“Then, as soon as Rassie rang me to join him at the Boks, it was like 100 percent committed straight away.”
Photo: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
The post Tonyball: Winning is always what excites me appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Attack coach Tony Brown reckons his approach with the Springboks starts with whose available, then builds around momentum, speed and space to find a way to succeed.
The post Tonyball: Winning is always what excites me appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
