Tony Brown was thrilled with the progress of the Springbok attack under his guidance as the world champions achieved a quick turnaround in Saturday’s win over England.
The two teams clashed swords at Twickenham for the first time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup semi-final, with the Boks arriving in the English capital following a 4-0 win over Scotland on Sunday.
The South African team began preparations for the second Test of their three-match tour on Tuesday after traveling from Edinburgh to London on Monday. Rassie Erasmus’ charges are scheduled to face Wales in Cardiff next week.
Brown assistant coach and team doctor Jerome Mampane spoke to the media on Tuesday about adjusting the team’s approach this week to ensure the team performs the best possible on Saturday.
Rassie Erasmus is set to announce his 23rd match on Thursday, but when asked if team selections had been planned in advance considering the short training week and several key players missing in the 32-15 win at Murrayfield, Brown said the Bok coach “always has a plan”. “There is,” he said. We have the overall plan in mind.”
“It’s always difficult because we have a short turnaround time because we miss training days,” Brown said. So the players have to adapt.”
“But we are doing everything we can to ensure they are physically and mentally fresh for the game.”
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Mampane added: “We made changes to the program this week, but the goals the coaches want to achieve remain, and everyone has put together a plan to ensure the players are as fresh as possible for each competition.”
In his first year on the Erasmus staff, Brown was pleased with how the Boks’ attack was developing, but insisted there was room for improvement as the back-to-back World Cup winners head towards Australia 2027.
“There’s fantastic talent in this team, so it’s encouraging to see them finding ways to improve their game and create a better attacking style of play,” the former All Blacks flyhalf said.
“I was encouraged to change the way they looked at the game and try to use their natural ability for the X factor, physicality and size to create an offensive game. The best attacking team in the world.
“The players are buying what I’m selling and what I’m trying to push. And the biggest thing about attacking with the Springboks, aside from the gainlines, is that you have to attack the way the Springboks play the game, which is very physical.
“I would never teach the Springboks how to play like the All Blacks. I will teach the Springboks how to attack like a Springboks. We are starting to understand what it is like, and by this time next year we should be at 100% making a huge amount of improvement.”
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
