Tony Brown aims to turn Boks’ Handre Pollard into attacking machine

New Springbok attack coach Tony Brown is aiming to take flyhalf Handre Pollard back to his roots and turn him into an attacking machine, like he was when he burst onto the scene in the 2012 U20 World Cup.

Brown was speaking to the media at a press briefing on Monday afternoon ahead of the first Test against Ireland in Pretoria this weekend and admitted he was eager to turn Pollard into a dominant force over the coming years.

“It has been really good (settling in). It has been a little bit different for them (the players), trying some new things and getting them to play the game a bit differently,” explained New Zealander Brown, who joined the squad earlier this season.

‘Play exciting rugby’

Talking about the Springbok No 10, Brown said: “With Handre (Pollard) being a little bit older, he has been around a long time, so I am hoping that with a bit more time we can build quite a good partnership and get him playing some really exciting rugby.

“When I was watching him as an U20s player he was probably the most dominant flyhalf on the gainline as a 20-year-old. If we can get him back to that sort of footy it would be amazing.”

Speaking about the other flyhalves in the Bok system, Brown said he was very excited about the talent that he has to work with and that after some time the players would be running like a well-oiled machine.

“With guys like Manie (Libbok), Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) and even Jordan (Hendrikse) they play the game a little bit differently. So understanding them as players and them understanding me as a coach is only going to develop over time,” said Brown.

“The best thing from my point of view is that they have all got amazing skill sets and they can all push themselves massively and challenge themselves to be better rugby players. So it is exciting for me and hopefully it is exciting for them to be coached in a different way.”

Libbok’s goal-kicking

On the goal kicking front Brown said he would be working hard with Libbok to make sure he was at his best for the series against Ireland.

“They are all confident goalkickers. Manie has obviously had a few issues in recent times, but when he practices he is a quality goalkicker. It’s a matter of him getting a bit more comfortable on the big stage and I am sure he can fix that pretty quickly. The other two boys are pretty good,” said Brown.

On the Irish front, Brown believes that the retirement of Johnny Sexton leaves a hole in their team.

“With Johnny Sexton, who is probably Ireland’s greatest player, retiring after the World Cup it has left a massive hole for them. But I think the young boy (Jack) Crowley has done a fantastic job,” added Brown. “He looks like a fantastic player.”