Tony's vision - to see the Bok attack do 'some amazing things'

Tony Brown has a vision for the Springboks - that, if it works, will see them “do some amazing things” on attack over the next four years.

The former All Black pivot, who has a long history with South Africa and South African teams, slotted in seamlessly to the Springbok camp in the first few weeks, and there were already some signs of his influence in the way the Springboks played in their opening game of the season against Wales at Twickenham.

But Brown is also no dreamer, and knows the hard work that needs to go in to take the Boks’ game to a new level.

While there has been a steady evolution over the past two seasons that have seen the Boks become a lot more dangerous on attack, with the game constantly evolving any advantage you can gain at test level is worth its weight in gold.

So what Brown is focused on is not improving skillsets - but rather in identifying space.

It may sound like a given, but to identify the space quicker - and by that we mean a split second or two quicker - could make all the difference in a game of fine margins.

The Boks have been able to exploit space often through the natural talent of their outside backs, but that ability to create that space, to see where it exists and exploit it and turn it into points is something that every side strives for.

Brown is no exception, and comes from a history of putting backlines away as a player, and wants that knowledge to be passed onto the current crop of Boks in order to try and do the impossible and win a third consecutive World Cup.

He admitted that as a player, and as a coach, facing the Boks has been difficult in the past, but without saying it, hinted at there being some flaws in the attack of the Boks over the years.

'THERE WILL BE MISTAKES'

But now he wants to marry the physicality and dominance that often comes with Springbok rugby and give it more life, so that the backs can turn that into points.

“It is never an easy thing to play against the Springboks and it is a difficult thing to coach against the Springboks, especially when you are coaching Japan,” Brown smiled.

“South Africa have always had a style of play that is very hard to stop, based around physicality and being dominant in the set-piece.

“So for me, it is about where we can go with our attack. I think we can do some amazing things if we can keep that physicality and domination and try and evolve around attacking more space a little more often and trying to get the players to understand how we create that space and what we need to do to attack it.

Brown smiled again when asked about Wales and the evolution of the Bok backline, and admitted that while there will be mistakes, the players will get better in terms of their decision-making and with that slowly, the attack will start to take some shape.

“Against Wales we did some amazing things. We scored some exceptional tries, and the boys who have been working on their skillset have been outstanding,” he added.

“Seeing those pictures and being able to execute under pressure is good. In the game of rugby if you are pushing the players to be better all the time, there are going to be mistakes, but over time we are hoping to negate the mistakes and have better execution and decision-making.”

Brown laughed off the verbal barbs and sideshows that have led up to this weekend’s test match, saying both teams probably feel they are No 1 in the world at the moment, and that made for an exciting contest.

“Ireland have been playing some really good rugby for a number of years now and South Africa have won the last two World Cups. Ireland probably feel that they should have got more out of their World Cups.

“It has created this - who is No 1 in the world? I guess both teams think they are No 1 and it has created a bit of media stuff. It is good for you guys to get some ex players to throw some shots at the different countries. It adds a bit of entertainment leading up to what will be a massive test match.”

The Boks will name their match day 23 for the test match on Tuesday.