New Zealand Rugby CEO Steve Lancaster says that Tony Brown has been ‘really clear’ on the position he wants to fulfil in the All Blacks coaching team.
The former fly-half will leave Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks set-up after the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia to return to New Zealand after signing a two-year deal to be an All Blacks assistant coach.
Brown is highly regarded as an attack coach after his work with Otago, the Highlanders, the Sunwolves and, perhaps most notably, Japan and South Africa. His coaching CV and pedigree have piqued the interest of NZ Rugby and former All Blacks coaches over the years, but they have repeatedly been rebuffed until now.
Any All Blacks head coach will be happy to have Tony Brown
With his contract expiring next year, NZ Rugby launched another bid to convince the former fly-half to realise his dream of coaching the All Blacks and they were finally successful. Speaking to the media after the announcement, Lancaster said that the board did not succumb to the public’s pressure to lure him back to Aotearoa.
“Our job is to be immune to that pressure,” he said.
“So no, that wasn’t a factor. Again, it was just a case of someone who’s signalled for a long time that at the right time they want to be here coaching, us being really clear that we want that too.
“We are really confident that any All Blacks head coach in 2028 will want Tony and their group. So, the stars have aligned nicely.”
While Brown’s future is secured, Dave Rennie’s is not, with the new All Blacks boss only signed up until the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup. NZ Rugby confirmed that the new boss was involved in the decision to nab the attack guru away from the Springboks, but he may not bear the fruit from the high-profile acquisition.
All Blacks: New Zealand Rugby set ‘no later than’ deadline on Dave Rennie decision
Could Tony Brown be the next All Blacks head coach?
NZ Rugby has set a ‘not later than’ deadline for when talks will commence to decide the future of the All Blacks’ head coaching role. However, Brown has made his stance on his role in the Test team’s set-up clear.
“Well, we’ve contracted him as an assistant coach; he has been really clear that that’s the role he wants to come into as well,” Lancaster revealed when asked whether Brown could take over the head coach job if Rennie doesn’t retain the job beyond the World Cup.
“Look, if things change, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but for now, we’re really clear on where he fits in, and so is he.”
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Lancaster was also asked whether NZ Rugby moved to secure Brown’s services so as not to miss out on him again or whether it was a more proactive move, he replied: “I would like to think that it’s the latter.
“We certainly don’t want to have FOMO, but we also want to be strategic in our decision-making, be proactive and decisive, and I think that this announcement is evidence that we are doing that.”
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