Former All Blacks first-five Lima Sopoaga has described Tony Brown’s signing as an assistant coach for New Zealand after next year’s World Cup as a "massive coup".
New Zealand Rugby’s announcement this morning that Brown, committed to the Springboks as an assistant until the end of 2027, had agreed to return home on a two-year deal has created a stir around the rugby world, not least in South Africa.
Brown’s signing is unique in that he will join the All Blacks regardless of who the head coach is – current head coach Dave Rennie is only contracted until the end of next year – but it would take a catastrophic series of performances and results for Rennie to be let go before then.
NZ Rugby chief executive Steve Lancaster confirmed today that Rennie’s contract would be up for renewal after next year’s Rugby Championship, which will be held before the World Cup, which starts on October 1.
There have been questions among some Springboks' fans about the timing of the announcement, coming as it does on the eve of the "Greatest Rivalry" tour of South Africa in August and September. But it is clear NZ Rugby has learned from the past to snap up Brown before he accepts a contract with another international rival.
It is understood that Brown had also attracted serious interest from other nations and European and Japanese clubs.
And as for announcing it 18 months before he starts, it is clear too that the news would have leaked almost immediately regardless.
“What we do know from dialogue from other head coaches and previous head coaches and potential head coaches is that everybody would have Tony Brown in their team,” Lancaster said today.
For Sopoaga, who won a Super Rugby championship under Brown at the Highlanders in 2015, the signing is a big deal.
“It’s a massive coup for them,” he told 1News today. “He’s arguably the best attack coach walking on this planet right now.
“It’s a really big signing for New Zealand Rugby and the All Blacks and it will really help the team in the future.
“He brings all sorts of different philosophies and thought processes. What he’ll be able to do is unlock the talent in this country in a way that is innovative and fun. That’s something I really enjoyed about his coaching style.”
It was Brown who famously thought up Sopoaga’s infamous “behind the head” kick play during a match against the Hurricanes in Wellington in 2015.
“Expect the unexpected with him,” Sopoaga said. “He’ll come up with things that are so far out of the box that other teams wouldn’t dare to try… he’s always willing to push the boundaries in terms of attack.”
Several questions came to mind with this morning’s announcement. First, how involved Rennie was with the appointment when NZ Rugby’s statement made it clear that incoming high performance director Don Tricker was leading the process, and how the other coaches, most pertinently new attack coach Mike Blair, would feel about it.
Lancaster stated Rennie was “engaged with the process” from the start and neither Blair nor any of the other coaches need worry about their roles beyond 2027.
“The portfolio that Tony will hold will be a question for the head coach at the time,” Lancaster said. “Nothing is pre-determined in terms of what role or what portfolio Tony will have.
“We see his addition to the team as exactly that. It’s an addition to the team. With the current group we have two outstanding forward coaches in Neil Barnes and Jason Ryan and we’ve been able to give them both portfolios that will set the team up for success. Tony will add to the group as well.”
The other intriguing element to the signing is Brown was firmly on Jamie Joseph’s coaching ticket at the Highlanders and Japan.
Joseph and Rennie were the only candidates on the shortlist for the All Blacks’ top job, with Rennie getting the nod in March.
In a message to 1News today, Joseph described Brown’s announcement as "awesome news – great appointment".
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