Is New Zealand in danger of giving trade secrets to main rivals?

The ongoing loss of coaching intellectual property is beginning to feel like the iceberg that may break apart in New Zealand, whereas most of the established rugby world would see their troubled finances and failing balance sheets as their biggest concern.Not only is a large portion of New Zealand’s intellectual property being lost annually, but so much of it is also being taken advantage of and sold to rival companies.

Trade secrets are being disclosed at an accelerated rate, and there’s considerable reason to think that skilled coaches who have recently been heavily involved at the highest levels of the game in New Zealand will be crucial in undermining the All Blacks this season.

It can only be said that former All Black Tony Brown has fallen into the most unexpected of circumstances by a random twist of fate.

He was introduced as a member of the 2024 Springboks coaching team two weeks ago. Brown, who has spent the last eight years with Japan, is regarded as one of the best tactical minds in the game and has a track record of creating creative, fast-paced, high-skill attack patterns. The Boks signed Brown.
They want to take advantage of his ability to help teams generate and exploit space, which is the same reason that, when they applied to coach the All Blacks in 2019, Ian Foster and Scott Robertson both wanted him on their respective coaching staffs.

When Brown declared himself open to bids following the World Cup last year, South Africa pounced and could not believe their luck that they were able to sign him. In the end, Japan quadrupled Brown’s money to stay.

When Brown had a late-career stay at the Stormers in 2008, former Springboks captain Jean de Villiers, who had played with Brown, said: “Tony started in the mid-90s playing Super Rugby and international rugby, went all the way through and finished at about 2010.”

After that, he started coaching right away.coached all around the world, in Japan, and with the Highlanders. With 35 years of IP and top-tier rugby experience under his belt, he can now leverage that knowledge to help the Boks.

Even if the Blues stand to gain greatly, the All Blacks run a serious risk of inviting a wolf too close to the lambs come August and September of this year. The Springboks might be the true winners of Brown’s time in Auckland.

If it was difficult for New Zealanders to accept that Brown had been kidnapped by the archenemy, things have gotten much stranger as Brown has unexpectedly joined the Blues Super Rugby squad as an emergency substitute for assistant coach Jason O’Halloran, who is now on an indefinite medical leave.Unfortunate as it may be, Brown’s arrival is a great addition for the Blues, and with him, the team may finally realise the full potential of a backline that boasts incredible players like Caleb Clarke, Mark Tele’a, Rieko Ioane, and Stephen Perofeta.

The benefit of Brown joining the Blues will be to watch this youthful quartet flourish, but there will also be a cost to his staying in Auckland.

He will be able to observe directly how these four function. He will gain a comprehensive awareness of their strengths and limitations, as well as what defaults they make when under duress, what they might be unable to predict, and what kind of assaulting manoeuvres they detest encountering.

As much as the Blues stand to gain greatly, the All Blacks run a serious risk of allowing a wolf too close to the sheep. As the Rugby Championship takes place in Johannesburg and Cape Town in August and September of this year, it’s possible that the Springboks will stand to gain the most from Brown’s time in Auckland.The All Blacks and Springboks have played five tests in the previous six years or so, with two draws and five matches that were decided by a single point.

There are not many points separating them, and Brown’s knowledge from Super Rugby may be sufficient to create the half chance that gives the Springboks the victory.

At the same time, with Joe Schmidt leading the Wallabies, the All Blacks have a fresh opponent. Schmidt, who just left the All Blacks after the World Cup, joined the squad as an assistant coach last year and is therefore also well-versed in the black players his team will probably encounter this season.

Unquestionably, having Brown and Schmidt confined by the Wallabies and Springboks poses a risk to New Zealand, and it may make it necessary for the organisation to think about improving its intellectual property protection strategies.

And therein is the concern for the All Blacks: their knowledge of particular New Zealand players is greater than their fear that Schmidt and Brown will appropriate plays and concepts from New Zealand and apply them to their new teams.

If there are any doubters, they should see the benefits New Zealand gained from Schmidt’s insider knowledge of the Irish players during last year’s World Cup quarterfinal matchup between the Wallabies and the Irish. There is no denying that the Wallabies benefit from his access to deep, confidential secrets about important All Blacks.

Unquestionably, having Brown and Schmidt confined by the Wallabies and Springboks poses a risk to New Zealand, and it may make it necessary for the organisation to think about improving its intellectual property protection strategies.

NZR has seen Schmidt’s appointment as a chance to fortify its important strategic ally.

The Wallabies are a shambles, and in order for the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup to mean more to NZR and help it better achieve its commercial goals for both, they need to be competitive and credible.

With Schmidt leading the Wallabies, Southern Hemisphere rugby may be strengthened and a fragile team can be stabilised as Australia can regain confidence and unity.

Similar permissions were granted by NZR to Robbie Deans in 2008, while he was coaching the Wallabies, and to Graham Henry in 2012 and 2013, when he served as technical director for both the Blues and Argentina.

These multiple responsibilities were approved on the grounds that New Zealand must contribute to the development of the game and assist others in becoming more competitive for the benefit of society, as was Brown’s engagement with the Highlanders in various capacities between 2016 and 2022 while he was also Japan’s assistant.

Former NZR CEO Steve Tew discussed the difficulty of lending a hand to others without going so far as to hurt the All Blacks in 2013.

“We do want to help some nations develop and grow, so it’s a balancing act,” he stated.

Conversely, our intellectual property is dispersed globally, especially among coaches and players, and we operate in an open, global rugby economy. We are unable to change that other than limiting a coach or player’s access to what we have once they sign a contract to depart New Zealand.

New Zealand is about to face a choice between saving itself and aiding the rest of the world.

“In actuality, intellectual property will become stale rather quickly, but we still need to take reasonable steps to address certain sensitivities.” To be honest, though, we would be better off controlling what we can—that is, developing our own technical and physical prowess and remaining one step ahead of the competition.

Perhaps the last sentence will be the one to make New Zealand reconsider if it has the balance correct.

Since early 2019, the All Blacks have not held the top spot in the world rankings for any extended period of time, unlike their tenure from 2009 to 2018.

Their win percentage over the past four years has been 70%, down from 90% between 2012 and 2019. They haven’t won the World Cup since 2015 and have suffered historic first defeats to Argentina and Ireland at home.

The Springboks may now have the better World Cup history and the reputation for being able to adapt on key moments, since Ireland has overtaken them as the most consistent side in the world.

New Zealand is about to face a choice between saving itself and aiding the rest of the world.

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