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Percy Montgomery’s big fear ahead of the Springboks vs the All Blacks

PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 28: Jordie Barrett passes the ball to Rieko Ioane whilst under pressure from Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende during the Rugby World Cup Final match between New Zealand and South Africa at Stade de France on October 28, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Michael Steele - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

First Aled Walters, then Leon MacDonald and now Felix Jones. It’s been a tumultuous couple of weeks in the rugby coaching world.

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Over the weekend, England’s defence coach Jones handed in his resignation just 10 months after joining the Red Rose set-up from South Africa.

Jones’ decision follows on from Walters’ announcement that he was leaving England for Ireland as Head of S&C.

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Percy Montgomery on the greatest players he played with and against | RPTV

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      Percy Montgomery on the greatest players he played with and against | RPTV

      Springbok legend Percy Montgomery chats about some of the All Black greats in the latest episode of Boks Office, available now on RugbyPass TV.

      WATCH NOW

      Rumours suggest the primary reason Jones wants out, just when his blitz defensive system was starting to bear fruit, is down to an unstable coaching environment.

      And according to former Springbok full-back Percy Montgomery, the star guest on this week’s episode of Boks Office, Jones couldn’t have timed his exit better – as long as the RFU don’t invoke the 12-month notice period in his contract.

      “If there is a time to do it, the time is now. The next World Cup is coming and you want to get your coaching team together, that plays as you want,” he said.

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      New Zealand, meanwhile, were very clear that a lack of alignment in coaching philosophy was to blame for MacDonald leaving Scott Robertson’s All Blacks coaching team.

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      Now that MacDonald has gone, two other assistants, Scott Hansen and Tamati Ellison, will take on additional responsibilities as the All Blacks prepare for their biggest challenge of the year, against the world champion Springboks in Johannesburg on Saturday.

      How long that arrangement will continue is unclear but for however long the All Blacks attack coach role remains vacant, Springbok supporters, Montgomery included, will be on edge.

      Brown has designs on working with the All Blacks in the future, recently saying: “One day, maybe I might coach the All Blacks – I don’t know. I just want to be part of this coaching set-up and the Springboks over the next four years.”

      Montgomery, for one, is hoping that he sees out the remainder of his contract: “I just hope Tony Brown doesn’t go to New Zealand and we keep him here. I played with Tony Brown when he was at the Sharks, when he was fly-half there. He’s a great guy and I can see his contribution to South African rugby, with the attacking.”

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      While Springboks rugby is riding the crest of an attacking wave under Brown, it was a different story when he and Montgomery toured Australia together with the Natal Sharks.

      Speaking with Boks Office presenter Hanyani ‘Shimmy’ Shimange and fellow pundits Jean de Villers and Schalk Burger, he tells the story of the time when Brown was all at sea.

      “We stayed at the Manly Pacific in Sydney, and the Sunday after the game vs New South Wales, we went for lunch and maybe we had one or two beers,” he said.

      “Walking back to the hotel – in those days he had those curly blonde locks and I thought he was a surfer – I said, ‘hey Tony, ‘the waves are pretty cool, shall we go for a surf?’ So we grab our boards, paddle out, and I can’t find him. I catch a wave back in and there he is, bleeding.

      “I had to take him to the doctor for stitches. I never knew he couldn’t surf.”

      Episode 20 of Boks Office will be available to watch on RugbyPass TV later today (Tuesday).

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      Comments

      51 Comments
      T
      TO 214 days ago

      Conversing with a moron is time wasting. When you grow up you might be able to support your opinions with reasoned explanations but till then keep sniffing your butt and licking your nuts while eating your regurgitated shite.

      H
      Hellhound 217 days ago

      Blah blah blah. Sour grapes won't win you the cup either. The Bok fan base outside of Saw have grown considerably and more and more teams, especially in club rugby is starting copying some of the Boks stuff. They are evolving. Unless the AB's evolve, they will stay stagnant. Old school don't work anymore. The Boks are the team with the plans, the innovations. So run along and regurgitate in the pub where you belong

      B
      B 218 days ago

      in order for any form of attack plays to happen you've got to have the ball... having players with good in the air ball catching skills and a solid forward pack providing good front foot ball from scrums and mauls helps too... after that its up to the play makers judgement either to run it, pass it or kick it...

      G
      Gwijo 219 days ago

      NZ fans seem to struggle to differentiate between 'attack' and 'backs'. Many seem to think that attacking rugby means the backline scores tries. It's lazy, uncreative thinking. Tony is an attack coach and in the SA context that means attack of all kinds - backs, forwards, and a hybrid. Brown would work with attack from backline moves as well as lineout / maul / scrum attack. It's more holistic.

      H
      Hellhound 218 days ago

      Well said. Backs and forwards are one team, and the interchange between the players need to be smooth. That's why you see a lot more forwards between the backs or on the sidelines like wings

      S
      Snash 219 days ago

      Rassie proved 18 months to win a world cup (2019)is enough

      H
      Hellhound 218 days ago

      Oh that is dependent on country. NZ can, they have the players and talent. The Irish can't, they need time to get other countries players into their system to qualify for residency so they can use them. Australia can't, because of the AFL and NRL. France can, they have enough players etc etc etc. Depending on player pool availability as well as professional players availability will be important. You can't throw amateur rugby players against international stars. That is why rank 10 to 20 gets destroyed by the bigger unions. However, I think you were talking in context to NZ and they do qualify under that distinction made

      J
      Jen 220 days ago

      Come home Tony, you could be here for christmas.

      H
      Hellhound 220 days ago

      He will be with the Boks until the next WC at least. He will be back in NZ after that. He and Razor won't see eye to eye. Now if Jamie Joseph was the coach, it may have been a different scenario

      F
      Forward pass 220 days ago

      No thanks. Whats he done? Im not seeing this so called "massive improvement" in SA backs and hope they run it at NZ all game. I bet they dont tho. I bet they revert to type under pressure. The Boks backs only scored 3 of 9 tries v Aus and 2 were purely individual efforts. Sorry Brown I dont see the hype.

      H
      Hellhound 220 days ago

      PM is afraid that the AB's will head hunt TB for attack coach, so that we may lose him. He hopes he stays and don't go back to NZ now that he is part of the Springbok setup. He may have a release clause in his contract. The Boks whole new system is build on TB attacking system. That is what this article is about as far as I can see which is a legitimate concern, but I think TB will stay, because of how Rassie is doing things and he wants to learn from him. He already stated he wants to be part of this Bok team for the next 4 years.

      C
      Chiefs Mana 220 days ago

      Think Tony brown will await a ticket that includes him and Jamie Joseph who he’s hugely loyal too.

      B
      Bull Shark 220 days ago

      Yeah and Tony seems like a man of integrity. His relationship with Rassie goes back some and I believe Tony was only interested in coaching with Jamie Joseph. Not the current bunch. I don’t think he wants to play second fiddle to Razor.


      Boks by 15.

      J
      JK 220 days ago

      Winning is quite the draw...TB will stay I think

      R
      RW 220 days ago

      What on earth is this article about? I cannot understand what is being said. Sounds like an excerpt out of the Daily Voice. Whoever wrote this can't seem to string two meaningful sentences together.

      W
      WK 220 days ago

      I have to agree—it is a peculiar article.

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      J
      JW 3 hours ago
      French bid to poach 109kg 17-year-old dual-code Aussie prospect Heinz Lemoto

      Yes that’s what WR needs to look at. Football had the same problem with european powerhouses getting all the latin talent then you’re gaurenteed to get the odd late bloomer (21/22 etc, all the best footballers can play for the country much younger to get locked) star changing his allegiance.


      They used youth rep selection for locking national elifibilty at one point etc. Then later only counted residency after the age of 18 (make clubs/nations like in this case wait even longer).


      That’s what I’m talking about, not changing allegiance in rugby (were it can only be captured by the senior side), where it is still the senior side. Oh yeah, good point about CJ, so in most cases we probably want kids to be able to switch allegiance, were say someone like Lemoto could rep Tonga (if he wasn’t so good) but still play for Australia’s seniors, while in someone like Kite’s (the last aussie kid to go to France) case he’ll be French qualified via 5 years residency at the age of 21, so France to lock him up before Aussie even get a chance to select him. But if we use footballs regulations, who I’m suggesting WR need to get their a into g replicating, he would only start his 5 years once he turns 18 or whatever, meaning 23 yo is as soon as anyone can switch, and when if they’re good enough teams like NZ and Aus can select them (France don’t give a f, they select anybody just to lock them).

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      The only benefit of the draft idea is league competitiveness. There would be absolutely no commercial value in a draft with rugby’s current interest levels.


      I wonder what came first in america? I’m assuming it’s commercial aspect just built overtime and was a side effect essentially.


      But the idea is not without merit as a goal. The first step towards being able to implement a draft being be creating it’s source of draftees. Where would you have the players come from? NFL uses college, and players of an age around 22 are generally able to step straight into the NFL. Baseball uses School and kids (obviously nowhere near pro level being 3/4 years younger) are sent to minor league clubs for a few years, the equivalent of the Super Rugby academies. I don’t think the latter is possible legally, and probably the most unethical and pointless, so do we create a University scene that builds on and up from the School scene? There is a lot of merit in that and it would tie in much better with our future partners in Japan and America.


      Can we used the club scene and dispose of the Super Rugby academies? The benefit of this is that players have no association to their Super side, ie theyre not being drafted elshwere after spending time as a Blues or Chiefs player etc, it removes the negative of investing in a player just to benefit another club. The disadvantage of course is that now the players have nowhere near the quality of coaching and each countries U20s results will suffer (supposedly).


      Or are we just doing something really dirty and making a rule that the only players under the age of 22 (that can sign a pro contract..) that a Super side can contract are those that come from the draft? Any player wanting to upgrade from an academy to full contract has to opt into the draft?

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