Tony Brown is still having a big influence on the Springboks’ attack in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, according to Nick Mallett.
‘Tonyball’ – the media-coined term for the expansive, multi-dimensional attacking strategy introduced by the Bok attack coach – has been far less obvious during the first two Tests against the All Blacks.
The former All Blacks flyhalf has helped expand the Boks’ attacking arsenal since joining Rassie Erasmus’ coaching staff in 2024, but the world champions have leaned heavily on their traditional strengths against New Zealand.
After their error-ridden attacking performance in the 33-16 first-Test defeat at Ellis Park, the Boks reverted to a more direct approach in Cape Town, combining their power game with a strong kicking game and set-piece pressure to win 33-26 and level the four-Test series at 1-1.
Speaking on the Talking Boks podcast, host Brenden Nel questioned why there had been so little talk of Tonyball during the series, while rugby writer Gavin Rich suggested the Boks had temporarily shelved some of their more expansive play because their power game was proving the key point of difference against New Zealand.
Mallett, though, believes Brown’s fingerprints remain all over the Bok attack – even if it doesn’t look like the wide-ranging game normally associated with Tonyball.
“I absolutely don’t think we’ve disregarded how good Tony Brown is,” said the former Bok coach.
“Everyone thinks that Tonyball is your ball out the back and moving it outside centre to the wing, wide play and playing like the All Blacks, quite frankly. But that isn’t necessarily how you always have to attack.
“The Springboks used to have a very direct attack where they’d pass to the first ball-carrier with two cleaners, and that was just physicality. The opposition would line up and know, ‘OK, we can double-hit the first guy and, if we are courageous, we can stop some momentum here.'”
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Mallett highlighted the changes Brown has made to the Boks’ attack off scrumhalf, where multiple runners and passing options are now used to leave defenders guessing.
“It’s not one guy who you know is going to carry it into contact. With the nine, you’re not sure whether he’s going to pass. When he does pass, you’re not absolutely certain that that guy isn’t going to make a little tip-on pass either.
“So what it is, basically, is three or four big guys running hard at the line and you’re not sure who’s getting the ball.
“That’s much more effective than just passing to one big guy with two cleaners, where you can spot him before he even gets the ball.”
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Mallett said Brown’s influence could also be seen in the angles of the Bok runners and the way the scrumhalf engages defenders before releasing the ball.
“I think Tony Brown is influencing the angles of running of our three guys off nine, and also how nine has to run a little curving loop to get away from the first defender, run onto the second defender, put him in two minds, and then the third and fourth [defenders] have to wait because he hasn’t passed yet. They might come up, but that opens doglegs.
“I just think those three tries we scored [in Cape Town] were classic examples of people playing on the line, but the opposition not knowing exactly who to hit.
“So our attack was dominating the defence because of the speed with which we were getting ruck ball and how accurately our nine was playing our runners. The opposition didn’t have time to get into position to make a double hit on our attackers.
“I think that is where Tony Brown has made a difference. Even with our play off nine, we have more variation than prior to him arriving here.”
Photo: Floris van Schouwenburg/Gallo Images
