BROWN IS NOT PLANNING ON SWAPPING THE BOKS FOR ALL BLACKS

FOLLOWING Rassie Erasmus’ cheeky social-media post saying Springbok assistant coach Tony Brown is not going anywhere, the New Zealander has confirmed it himself.

Last week Scott Robertson was fired as All Black coach, and the unexpected turn was that Brown was linked with a possible move back to his homeland.

Jamie Joseph is the top candidate to take over as head coach of the All Blacks, according to reports.

This is significant because it was reported that only Erasmus has signed a new contract with the Boks, and not his assistants. Brown, though, sought to throw cold water over the rumours.

Brown told The Post in New Zealand: “I’m obviously contracted. I don’t have an ‘out’ of my contract, so I’m back in South Africa [until the World Cup].”

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

It means that Brown is certainly not going anywhere until after the 2027 World Cup.

In December when Saru made the announcement about Erasmus, it also said: “An announcement on the contract negotiations with other members of the Springbok coaching team will be made in due course.”

It’s for this reason that this week Brown’s future has been a hot topic of discussion.

In a panel discussion on The Breakdown, another former All Black No. 10, Jeff Wilson, made the link between Brown and Joseph: “It would be hard to believe Jamie’s not the guy they’ve targeted.

“And they’ll be hoping they can lure Tony Brown back from the Springboks. I’d be surprised if Tony hadn’t left a door open.”

Given the latest comments by Brown, that isn’t the case.