Chiefs recruit hoping to fill Sam Cane's heavy-hitting boots

Jahrome Brown is back home in Hamilton after a seven-year stint in the Australian capital.

The 28-year-old flanker made quite the impression in Canberra appearing 51 times for the Brumbies securing 37 wins and scoring eight tries.

In 2020 the Brumbies won Super Rugby Australia while they were the only Aussie team to make the semi-finals of Super Rugby Pacific from 2022 to 2024.

Brown became a seasoned campaigner in those years and has emerged as a leading contender to replace former All Blacks captain Sam Cane at the Chiefs.

Why do the Brumbies go well? “I think it’s the culture of the team. They are a tight-knit group who back each other up,” Brown told RugbyPass.

“I think the fact they’re based in a small city helps too. We were constantly together training, drinking coffee, or playing golf.

“I think it’s the same at the Chiefs. We have that little chip on the shoulder. I always wanted to come home. I’m excited about performing my role to run hard and tackle hard. I’ve enjoyed reuniting with boys like Luke Jacobson and Samisoni Taukei’aho with whom I played a lot of age group footy.

“Sam Cane. He had everything. Boy running into him wasn’t fun at all. He was definitely one of the hardest hitters in the game. I can only hope to go half as well as he did.”

Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan noted: “Although he can play multiple positions, we probably see him as a specialist 7. We’ve really only carried one of them in recent seasons, and that’s been Sam. So with him moving on, we probably felt a need to just make sure we covered our bases there.”

The oldest of four siblings, Brown was born in the South Waikato town of Put?ruru. His Mum is a teacher-aid and his Dad works in a sawmill.

Brown attended Hamilton Boys’ High School and in 2014 scored two tries in the National Top Four final against Scots College, a fixture in which the late Connor Garden-Bachop also dotted down twice.

Further honours quickly followed with selection in the New Zealand Barbarian Schools team that beat Australia and Fiji and then inclusion in the Waikato Under 19s who won the Jock Hobbs Memorial tournament in 2016.

However, a combination of injury and stiff competition soon regulated Brown down the provincial pecking order. After just two games in two seasons for Waikato something had to give.

“I got an opportunity at the Brumbies through Chris Tindall who was the Chiefs High Performance Manager when we won Super Rugby in 2012 and 2013. He’d joined the Brumbies and I had worked with him a little so I jumped at it,” Brown reflected.

“Those years after high school when I was training in the morning, going to my job, and then training at night and playing on the weekend were tough. I’m lucky Hamilton Boys’ work ethic prepared me for that but I was restless and needed a change.”

Brown didn’t feature for the Brumbies in 2018 but he did strike up a vital relationship with Wallabies legend David Pocock (83 Tests, 47 wins).

“Dave taught me a lot open the number seven role, especially around nailing detail and getting those one-percent things right,” Brown observed.

“My first game for the Brumbies was at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane in 2019. I scored a try with my first touch of the ball and was surprised to find out afterwards my Mum, Dad, and partner at the time were in the crowd.

“I feel like 2022 was a strong season for the Brumbies. We made the semis and lost to the Blues at Eden Park by a point. I can remember we were coming hard at them but it was one of those games where we played well enough to win it but just didn’t get the rewards.”

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Super Rugby Pacific

Chiefs

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Crusaders

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The Chiefs haven’t been rewarded for their consistency, losing the last two Super Rugby Pacific finals. Still, on February 15 at Eden Park, they beat the Blues 25-14 to avenge their defeat to the Blues in the 2024 decider in their season opener. Brown didn’t play that match but observed. 

“It was a chance to see where we’re at right from the start and some good motivation for the boys from last year.”

The Crusaders were another team to lower the Chiefs’ colours in 2024. The two first-round winners clash in Hamilton on Friday night. It’s the 50th meeting between them, and the Crusaders hold a 29-20 advantage in previous fixtures. Brown, who will start, helped the Brumbies beat the Crusaders 31-24 last year having lost to the 14-time champions three times previously.