HEADING HOME: Brown’s decision to return to NZ as inevitable as it was expected

Springbok attack coach Tony Brown will return to New Zealand in 2028 to become All Blacks’ assistant coach.

After months of saying he was going nowhere the Springboks announced that attack coach Tony Brown would return to New Zealand to take up a post as All Blacks assistant coach following Rugby World Cup 2027.

It hardly comes as a surprise. Bok coach Rassie Erasmus knew this was coming.

For weeks the Bok management claimed Brown was going nowhere and technically all previous statements were accurate because he will honour his contract until the end of 2027.

Erasmus’ statements on Brown’s future were always carefully curated to ensure that they never included any post-RWC 2027 promises.

In January, Brown told New Zealand media that he didn’t have a “get out” clause in his Bok contract if the All Blacks came calling.

“I don’t have an ‘out’ of my contract, so I’m back in South Africa (until the World Cup),” Brown told the Otago Daily Times, days after former All Black coach Scott Robertson was fired.

“Everything’s just speculation. I’m not even sure what New Zealand Rugby’s plans are. No one’s really heard anything.”

Things have obviously changed in the five months since Robertson’s sacking.

Dave Rennie has been appointed as All Blacks head coach until the end of 2027. Brown has just been made All Blacks assistant coach from 2028, even though New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has no confirmed head coach beyond next year’s World Cup.

NZR said in a statement that Rennie was “engaged” in the process of Brown’s appointment, even though his own future is not secure beyond 2027.

“As part of that we have agreed with Dave we will discuss the process for the All Blacks head coach role no later than the conclusion of the 2027 Rugby Championship,” said NZR chief executive Steve Lancaster.

“For now, Dave and his coaching team are absolutely focused on what’s in front of them and we look forward to challenging ourselves against Tony and the Springboks in the coming months.”

It’s a bold move by NZR to make the appointment 18 months out when the fortunes of the head coach still appear unclear. It also opens speculation that Jamie Joseph, who has enjoyed a fruitful partnership with Brown at club and Test level with Japan, might be reunited on the All Black coaching ticket in 2028.

The reality is though, that Brown’s family is still based in New Zealand and his deep passion, like all former All Blacks involved in coaching, is to coach his national team.

“My contract with New Zealand Rugby only begins in 2028, so there is still a long road ahead before that comes into