I played with Tony Brown at the Highlanders and watching Japan’s stunning victory against Ireland I could see the extent of the influence he has as Jamie Joseph’s assistant. In fact, I see so much about this Japan side that is similar to how the Highlanders played when they won the Super Rugby title in 2015 under Joseph and Brown.
Tony has an ability to give players the confidence to play what they see, the courage to act on the pictures that are good, whether that’s run pictures, kick pictures or offload pictures. It can look effortless on the pitch but so much work goes into perfecting it in training. I’m sure they make a lot of mistakes in training and it makes you want to pull your hair out but you see that when it transfers into games it cause opponents a lot of problems.
Related: Japan stun Ireland to pull off another famous Rugby World Cup upset
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