Tony Brown reveals he has no out-clause to coach the All Blacks after Scott Robertson’s sacking
Tuesday, 20 January 2026
Tony Brown has confirmed to The Post that he has no out-clause with the Springboks that would allow him to coach the All Blacks in the wake of Scott Robertson’s sacking - and nor has he been tapped on the shoulder by New Zealand Rugby.
Brown is currently in Wānaka and has been the subject of feverish speculation about a role with the All Blacks alongside Jamie Joseph, but at this stage his future is still with the Springboks.
“I’m obviously contracted,” Brown said on Monday. “I don’t have an out of my contract, so I’m back in South Africa [until the Rugby World Cup].”
Asked if the All Blacks role would appeal if he could get out of the Springboks role, Brown said: “Everything's just speculation. I'm not even sure what New Zealand Rugby's plans are. No one's really heard anything.”
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Brown’s comments suggest the proud New Zealander hasn’t closed the door on a role with the All Blacks, but the significant stumbling block of his contract highlights the challenge NZ Rugby now faces in finding the best coaches midway through a Rugby World Cup cycle.
For that reason alone Brown said he was taken aback by NZ Rugby’s decision to sack Robertson.
“I'm very surprised,” he said. “I didn't think they would do that, especially with no one waiting to take over.
“[It’s] definitely not [going to be easy] for them [to find a replacement], especially without a CEO and high-performance manager, so there's lots of things for them to get sorted pretty quickly.
“All the [Springboks] coaches have been chatting on chat groups and things like that, so everyone's pretty surprised and amazed at what's what's been happening.”
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Mark Robinson announced midway through last year that he was finishing up as chief executive but his successor is yet to be found, while it was announced last week that NZ Rugby head of high performance Mike Anthony is also leaving.
Anthony will join English Premier League team Brighton next month.
It is unclear whether Brown’s potential unavailability would impact on Joseph’s appetite for the position, but the pair have significant history together and clearly dovetail well as a coaching partnership.
NZ Rugby is in the early stages of its process to replace Robertson, with chair David Kirk insisting last week they had “no one in mind” and that they would “cast the net wide”.
While that open process makes sense on the surface, the reality is that heavyweight coaches could be reluctant to throw their hat in the ring unless they know in advance they’re a real chance of getting the job, have strong alignment with the yet-to-be found chief executive and can assemble the right coaching team.
The failure to get those last two elements right has turned the All Blacks into a coaching turnstile since 2022, with seven coaches coming and going - Brad Mooar, John Plumtree, Ian Foster, Leon MacDonald, Jason Holland, Joe Schmidt and Robertson.
That number will rise if the new head coach wants new assistants, and if NZ Rugby determine they want to pursue the Joseph-Brown ticket they may also face tricky and potentially expensive talks with SA Rugby.