Dylan Brown was judged player of the match against Samoa. Photo / Photosport
Kiwis five-eighth Dylan Brown is adamant he wasn’t looking for redemption last Sunday against Samoa, even if that’s what he achieved.
After coming into the match under a cloud – following a difficult season at Parramatta, amid the spectre of his massive impending move to Newcastle – the 25-year-old was superb.
Brown has had big days for the Kiwis since his 2022 debut but this was undoubtedly his best test. He was everywhere in a player-of-the-match performance – efficient and effective. Brown set up two tries in the first half – including Matt Timoko’s score seconds before the interval with a clever grubber – and prompted another line break. He ran for 162m – only two teammates managed more – and completed 21 tackles, including some critical stops.
And best of all, Brown came up with the match-winning try in the 73rd minute, reeling in Kieran Foran’s bomb in traffic then forcing his way over, despite multiple defenders. He looked like someone with plenty to prove – after the torrent of criticism from Sydney media this season, in the wake of the massive $14 million contract with the Knights he signed in March, but insists that wasn’t the case.
“No, it was never that,” Brown said. “I feel like I still had a good year and I learned a lot of things, obviously played out of my position, but if anything like that helped me learn a lot of things about being a centre and I even had a go at hooker so. I just learned the appreciation of how important every role is in a team and I’m taking that on with me throughout this year and on to the next.”
When asked why he appeared so confident from the first whistle, Brown credited his teammates. “That’s what playing with elite players does,” he said. “It makes your job so much easier, like the forward pack. Everyone across the field did such a good job.”
Coach Stacey Jones knew Brown’s importance to the team and backed him throughout the week in camp. He was thrilled with the output from his No 6.
“He had a really good performance,” Jones agreed. “[We] kept it simple for him. His threat is his running game, though obviously he can take a bit of pressure off Kieran with the kicking game. The more he’s involved, the better for this team, especially with our attack. Dylan played really well, not only in attack, but his defence was pretty good too.”
Brown’s late try was the icing on the cake, as he hauled in a pinpoint Foran kick then showed strength and poise to find the try beside the goal posts.
“Usually I’m just the support guy in case the ball gets knocked back but I was just in the moment and it was sort of a jump in hope and I got the ball, so I was pretty happy with it,” said Brown. “That post was in the way and that made it a little bit hard, but it’s a bit of a rugby union try that one.”
The Samoan crowd expressed doubt over the try, while a Toa Samoa petulant co-captain Jarome Luai impeded attempts to take the conversion, kicking the ball off the tee. But Brown was unequivocal.
“There was a bit of a white line there and I noticed it [the ball] on there,” Brown confirmed. “The boys were asking me if I got the try and I [said] ‘I think I did, yeah’.”
The match was an “awesome contest” and a huge physical challenge, given the ball was in play for 63 minutes.
“It was tough,” Brown said. “I’m glad we could put on the show like that for everyone watching.”
He was also in awe of the occasion – with the noise and the energy from the Samoan fans – who even managed to drown out the Kiwis pre-match routine.
“We couldn’t even hear our own haka,” Brown smiled.
He paid tribute to his forwards, who laid an impressive platform.
“There was a lot of talk about the Samoan team and the boys took that personally, which showed in the game,” Brown said. “They’ve got a lot of passion and when we put that black jersey on, they go hard, they leave nothing out on their field, and that’s what they [did on Sunday].”
Brown was also impressed with 19-year-old centre Casey McLean, who flashed across for two tries.
“He’s young but he plays well about his age,” said Brown. “Even just in the meetings leading up to the game, he showed his maturity and his knowledge of the game. He’s been awesome. Last year he scored four tries [against Papua New Guinea] so he’s got six tries in two tests, which is unheard of.”
The Kiwis have a few days off before reassembling next Monday, ahead of their round two clash with Tonga at Eden Park on November 2.
“It’s good to have momentum going into the Tonga game,” said Brown. “We can’t wait.”
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.