All Blacks not overreacting to Springboks' new 'Tony Brown magic'

One of, if not the most iconic rivalry in rugby pits two fierce sporting nations against one another once more this weekend, and while the Springboks are showing clear signs of evolving this season under new leadership, the All Blacks know it’s still a game of DNA.

After winning the Rugby World Cup last October, the Springboks promoted Rassie Erasmus to head coach once more and along with him came a cohort of new faces with new ideas and perspectives.

Among that crew is former All Blacks playmaker Tony Brown, a man familiar to both the current All Blacks coaches and players, having played against and more recently coached against them with the Highlanders.

“Brownie”, as he’s affectionately known, has injected some more attacking freedom into the South African squad, with the attack guru’s excitement for that side of the game proving contagious for the team according to Springbok midfielder Jesse Kriel.

When speaking to media earlier in the Test week, Kriel went on to add: “You can see quite a bit of change but obviously you keep the core of what you’ve already built on for the last couple of years.

“Brownie has come in with some different thoughts and different ways he sees attacking rugby and also got a lot of guys using skills they wouldn’t normally use.”

The evolution was inevitably part of the All Blacks’ analysis ahead of the game, but head coach Scott Robertson says the focus doesn’t shift much.

“Everyone knows how South Africa play, their kicking game is exemplary, their ruck work… They’re playing a little bit more now they’ve got a bit of Tony Brown magic in there, they can play around you if they need to.

“Look, we’re well aware of all their strengths but it’s the physicality that comes with any Springbok team.”

With Brown’s influence most benefiting the likes of electric wingers Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse, the All Blacks backs are preparing for as steep of a challenge as any for the round three Rugby Championship matchup.

TJ Perenara echoed his coach’s sentiment around what Brown is achieving early in his Springbok journey but also said credit has to be shared.

“I think their attacking game was growing previously too, I think they have been playing some really good attacking football over a number of years.

“Under Brownie, you can see a little bit of his creativity coming through, but I don’t want to discredit the players that are there too. Some of the South African backs are some of the most skilled and talented players in world rugby.

“So, yes Brownie’s influence is there and he is making a difference, but he’s got a really good cattle of players that he’s working with too with some amazing skills, who have been showing those skills for a long time.”