1
Sir Wayne Smith: NZR has jumped the gun on Razor’s All Blacks exit
73
{{item.n}}
Rassie Erasmus squashes Tony Brown's All Blacks coaching rumours
By Henry Lee
After days of speculation about what the future holds for Springboks assistant coach Tony Brown, Rassie Erasmus has posted on social media to dispel any rumors that may be circulating.
New Zealand Rugby announced on Thursday that Scott Robertson had departed his role as head coach of the All Blacks after two years, which had fans and pundits around the world speculating if Brown is a possibility to be a part of a new coaching group.
Brown, who has in the past been the right-hand man for one of the leading candidates for the job, Jamie Joseph, is still contracted at the Springboks up until the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Erasmus has recently extended his contract with South African Rugby until 2031, and there has been constant talks around whether Brown also has a contract on the table to extend.
VIDEO
But the current Springboks head coach has taken to X, formerly Twitter, to ease the worries of South African fans from around the world, who may think Brown could return to New Zealand.
“Today is a great day!! Sleep Lekka,” Erasmus posted on X in the past couple of hours.
Today is a great day!! Sleep Lekka 🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/VemZz5h4T9
— Johan Erasmus (@RassieRugby) January 17, 2026
One hour after the 53-year-old’s first post on social media about the rumours, he doubled down on his first post, with an AI generated video of Tony Brown from the The Wolf of Wall Street movie.
Some more confirmatiom.
Sleep.dream and wake up with a smile = Content pic.twitter.com/G55Kf7hOsj— Johan Erasmus (@RassieRugby) January 17, 2026
When Erasmus’ contract was extended back in December 2025, SA rugby made a statement that implied negotiations were in the works with the other current coaches in the Springboks coaching staff.
“An announcement on the contract negotiations with other members of the Springbok coaching team will be made in due course.”
Joseph isn’t the only candidate who could coach the All Blacks to the next World Cup, with names like Dave Rennie, Vern Cotter, Pat Lam, and even former All Blacks coach Ian Foster being thrown around.
NZR will be looking to make the move in the near future, though, with Super Rugby Pacific on the horizon and a massive Test schedule for the All Blacks in 2026.
SHOW UP FOR RUGBY SEVENS!
Register for the LA28 Ticket Draw* at tickets.la28.org
*No purchase or payment required. Restrictions apply. Terms subject to change. Visit la28.org for official terms.
