Gustard backing Brown to excel this Autumn
MIKE Brown’s courage and adaptability have earned him the right to be England’s first choice full-back, says former England defence guru Paul Gustard.
Brown is set to win his 73rd cap against South Africa a week on Saturday – a contentious selection for supporters of the more naturally-gifted Saracens maestro Alex Goode who, along with Danny Cipriani, has been ostracised by Red Rose boss Eddie Jones.
However, Harlequins supremo Gustard, who also coached Goode during his previous long stint at Saracens, said: “I’ll only talk about my player now, but Mike Brown never let England down during my time coaching with them.
“I helped coach England to a series win in Argentina in 2013 and he was outstanding. He was unlucky to miss out on the Lions that year and it’s incredible for him to be the most capped player in his position for a team as strong as England.
“He’s only the second player in Harlequins’ history to play 300 games. He’s courageous, breaks tackles, one-on-one he’s defensively outstanding and brave, aerially he’s brilliant and his try-scoring record is pretty impressive as well.
“He’s shown he can adapt to being an international wing and while I’m not saying Alex Goode isn’t a brilliant player, Mike’s record speaks volumes.”
Brown’s courage will be needed next month against Southern Hemisphere opposition smelling blood after five English defeats in six games.
Resurgent South Africa are first-up after beating England 2-1 in June but Gustard believes his old side will strike back. He said: “South Africa have grown but that series was unbelievably even.
“If you look at the stats, both teams scored the same amount of tries and had similar percentages in terms of scrums, lineouts, attack and defence.
“We let things slip with a really bad 20 minutes in the first Test when we didn’t work hard enough – and if you don’t work hard enough against a team as big as South Africa, with the pace they have on the edges, you’ll come unstuck.
“They’ve got some huge, huge men but England have different skills and are still a very good team. I’m sure they’ll get the result they want and go into the New Zealand game with some confidence.”
Meanwhile, Gustard believes he has unearthed a gem in 28-year-old USA centre Paul Lasike, a former American Footballer with Chicago Bears.
Gustard said: “Paul’s a very direct, confrontational player with good hands. He runs very straight, fixes defenders and creates opportunities – he’ll be a hell of a good player for us this season.”