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'I thought I wanted to coach the All Blacks': Tony Brown's journey from reluctant head coach
When Steve Hansen’s contract as All Blacks head coach came to an end following the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, New Zealand Rugby reached out to 26 candidates they considered viable options who could have a role to play in the post-Hansen era.
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One of those candidates was Tony Brown, perhaps one of the most creative and openminded coaches operating in world rugby. Brown has spent the past three season as an assistant to Jamie Joseph with the Japanese national side and the Brave Blossoms’ attacking flair was evident in their quarter-final finish at last year’s World Cup.
During the All Blacks head coach recruitment process, Brown was shoulder-tapped by both Ian Foster and Scott Robertson to join their respective coaching teams. He turned both men down.
“During the World Cup, I had aligned myself with Scott Robertson and Ian Foster and still with Jamie if he decided to have a crack at the [All Blacks] job,” Brown told the Otago Daily Times late last year. “So in my mind, I thought whoever got the job I would be involved somewhere as an assistant coach.
“But just after the World Cup, when I got back home and had a few days to think about it, it just did not feel right to be floating between different coaching teams.”
Ultimately, Brown aligned himself with Joseph and doubled down on his commitment to Japan and will stick with the side through to the end of the 2023 World Cup in France. He also linked back up with the Highlanders in an assistant role for 2020 and has since been confirmed as the franchise’s new head coach for the next two seasons.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ The Conversation podcast, Brown has shed further light on his decision to turn down a shot at coaching the All Blacks and instead re-affirming his position with the Brave Blossoms.
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“I thought I wanted to coach the All Blacks and I probably had the best possible opportunity that someone can ever have where you couldn’t fail, obviously being with Razor and Fozzie leading into their interviews,” Brown said. “But, I just felt I had a lot more to give Japan rugby and I love coaching with Jamie Joseph so coaching the Japan team with Jamie was the right decision for me. And I wanted to push the game in Japan especially and try and see what we can do with this Japanese team going forward.
“I think I just want to coach teams that are able to push rugby to another level and I don’t know if the All Blacks, for me, was that job. I think coaching with Jamie, he allows me to push the Japan team to where they’ve sort of never been before, around how they play the game.
“I know with the Highlanders, we’re going to have to do something special to knock off the Crusaders and the Blues – and the Hurricanes and the Chiefs – so we’re going to have to do things a lot differently down there as well. Those are the jobs that I love and I think those are the jobs that are going to help me become the best coach I can be.”
Brown admitted that he no longer has an end goal in mind – a far cry from most New Zealand coaches who see a position with the All Blacks as the ultimate challenge. Instead, he simply wants to keep challenging himself, improve his abilities and continue to push the envelope.
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The 45-year-old kicked off his coaching career in Japan, assisting with the Sanyo (now Panasonic) Wild Knights. He has subsequently taken charge of the Otago provincial team, the Highlanders (for one season in 2017) and the Sunwolves.
His first stint with the Highlanders saw the New Zealand’s southernmost franchise make the quarter-finals – but Brown left the team for 2018 in order to focus more fully on preparing Japan for the home World Cup.
“I was a reluctant head coach quite openly, I suppose, a couple of years ago,” Brown said of his previous turn as head coach. “Ended up doing the job anyway with the Highlanders. I enjoyed that as well, it was a different challenge.
“Since then, I’ve been over in Japan and working with the Japanese team and also jumped in with the Sunwolves and had to do the head coach role at the Sunwolves as well. Quite enjoyed that, even though she’s a hard hard slog when you’re getting pumped every week.
“It sort of teaches you a lot about trying to create the right environment, making sure your leadership is good and trying to get performances out of guys who are potentially not quite as good as the other team’s. Learnt a lot around the head coach role by jumping into that side and feel as though I’m probably a lot more qualified than I was a couple of years ago to be able to pull it off.”
While Brown was more open to stepping into the head coach’s role for 2021, the Highlanders still looked to bring in a big name to take over from Aaron Mauger.
“We also wanted to try and attract a world-class head coach,” Brown said of the recruitment process. “We had one lined up but they pulled out and I was always going to jump into it if we couldn’t find the right person.
“There’s not a lot of world-class head coaches available – you probably know a few that haven’t got a job at the moment but we couldn’t entice them to the Highlanders so I was always willing to jump on board if we couldn’t get the right guy.”
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Now, as head coach of the Highlanders an assistant with Japan, Brown’s calendar will be crammed full of rugby throughout the year – and he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love coaching Japan. I actually just love coaching. I find if you spend too much time away from the game, whether it only be three or four weeks or three or four months, I think you lose your touch. I think you lose an opportunity to innovate the game.
“For me, I just love coaching rugby teams, coaching players, challenging players to do things differently on the rugby field and then ultimately trying to play the game different to everyone else. Watching at the moment, it’s all starting to become a bit similar. For me, coaching Japan and the Highlanders allows me to play around with a number of different things that hopefully can influence both environments.”
The Japanese national side, who have played no tests throughout 2020 due to the global pandemic, have been drawn in Pool D alongside England and Argentina for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The Highlanders, meanwhile, will kick off their 2021 Super Rugby season against the Crusaders in Dunedin.
Comments on RugbyPass
The World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
1 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
2 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
19 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments