Brown happy to pass on Blitzbok leadership

Having been at the helm of the Blitzbokke for five years, Brown has stepped aside to allow Philip Snyman to take up the reins ahead of the 2017 HSBC Sevens World Series. The announcement was made last week, as the side finalised preparations for the series opener in Dubai this weekend.

Brown has led the team to second place finishes for the past four seasons as well as captaining the side when they won the Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games back in 2014 – despite being injured in the first few minutes of the final.

The 29-year-old described his decision to hand over the leadership as a personal one, having captained the side for such a lengthy spell.

“It’s definitely a personal thing. The timing felt right to step down, it’s been a good five years and there is absolutely no need to flog it anymore,” Brown explained.

“I think what is important for me is to focus on my rugby, as I start getting to the twilight years of my career I need to be making the team of 12 going forward. You never want that position where there’s a captain and he isn’t making the team – it becomes a weird space.

“I feel like we are in a very good position and I think that prompted the decision – we’ve got someone like Philip here, it’s easy enough for me to step aside and concentrate more on my game.”

Snyman has been a solid figure for the Blitzbokke for the past few seasons and his experience in the 15-man game certainly has helped him in the faster-paced Sevens format. He also captained the Blitzbokke in four tournaments in 2016 so the role won’t be a completely new experience.

Brown said Snyman was the ideal candidate given his experience and leadership qualities.

“I think he was just a natural selection. If anyone knows the way this team operates, the captaincy has never been a one-man show. I’ve been very lucky to have people around me, supporting me and providing a sounding board to chat to both on and off the field. Philip has been at the forefront of that and the amount of work he has done in terms of leadership made it an easy selection,” Brown said.

Snyman certainly won’t be thrown to the wolves considering there are so many experienced players still in the setup. The likes of Brown, Chris Dry, Cecil Afrika and Branco du Preez have been on the circuit for years, while the 29-year-old Snyman has 37 tournaments under his belt as well.

“We’re aiming for a seamless transition. You never want to throw anyone in the deep end – but in all honesty if he had been thrown in the deep end he would have been just fine,” Brown said of Snyman.

“But we do have a lot of experience in this team and we’re lucky to have had consistency in selection over the last two years and going into this season now.

“He’s also been supported by the same people I was looked after by and the coach has full faith in Philip's ability as a leader and a captain. Cecil is there to look after the backline as he always has and hopefully I will do my little bit upfront.”

“But in general, there’s Chris and Branco, then Seabelo Senatla and Werner Kok – who are two player of the year winners in the past two years consecutively. So there is a lot of experience on the field and if each of us steps into our roles it’s going to make Philip’s job a lot easier.”

While he isn’t expecting a massive change now that the captaincy is off his shoulders, Brown said the change would allow for a chance to focus a bit more on his own game.

“I never want to say that the captaincy added a burden to my play – it was something I really enjoyed and it felt natural. I think the first the first team I ever captained was the under-10 B cricket side so it’s something I’ve been doing for a while,” Brown joked.

“I suppose it’s one of those things, as you get on in your career, there comes a time when you need to focus even more on yourself to make sure your game is up to standard with a lot of the guys who are a lot younger and bringing through a lot of energy.”

Looking ahead to the new season, and taking stock of the bronze medal result at the Olympics as well as four Series runner-up finishes, Brown admitted that the team has set some high goals.

“A series win will definitely be a goal very high up on the list. For the last four years, second place has been solid, but it hasn’t been incredibly satisfying being second so many years in a row. Luckily with the consistency in the team you have a lot of guys that have those memories and they want to improve our position and want to do more for the team this season.”

The Blitzbokke face Uganda, Scotland and the USA in Pool B of the Dubai Sevens.

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