Former All Blacks scrumhalf Justin Marshall admits he was surprised by Tony Brown’s decision to leave the Springboks and return to New Zealand.
NZ Rugby announced on Monday that Brown had signed a two-year deal to join the All Blacks coaching team from 2028.
The former All Blacks flyhalf is currently contracted as the Springbok attack coach and has become a key figure since joining Rassie Erasmus’ coaching set-up in 2024.
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Brown’s arrival coincided with a noticeable evolution in the Springboks’ attacking game, helping the world champions claim back-to-back Rugby Championship titles and successive unbeaten end-of-year tours.
While Erasmus has previously indicated that he wanted Brown to remain involved beyond the 2027 World Cup, the 51-year-old has never hidden his ambition to one day coach his home country.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast, Marshall said the announcement caught him off guard.
“I think it’s great. I know Brownie really well and I see him often because the All Blacks have been playing in South Africa. I know that he’s really happy in his role over there, so that news was surprising to me because I know how much he enjoys what he’s doing now.
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“The thing he actually said to me was how much he enjoys coaching with Rassie. ‘The guy just enables me to be myself and he doesn’t demand anything.’
“You look at Rassie from the outside and think he’d probably be a pretty hard guy to work alongside, but that’s not the case. Brownie reinforced that to me.
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“Everybody wants a healthy environment to work in. If you’ve got that, then you’re functioning at your best and getting the best out of the people around you. So the fact that Brownie wants to move on when I know how happy he is, is news to me.”
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
