BROWNED OFF
England star has no regrets after bust-up with fan who accused him and the team of not trying hard enough
MIKE BROWN says he has no regrets about confronting an abusive England supporter who accused him of not putting in a shift.
Full-back Brown (left) made no apology for biting back after the fan laid into him and Joe Marler (below) in Bloemfontein following England’s fifth straight Test loss (after Saturday’s defeat, above).
The incident capped a sorry day for Eddie Jones’ team, who crashed to a series defeat with a game to spare and slumped to sixth in the world rankings.
But Brown, 32, insists he was well within his rights to get involved after his commitment to the cause was so aggressively called into question.
“I’m not a robot, I’m a human being,” he fumed, as he prepared for this Saturday’s Cape Town finale. “This so-called supporter, with a flag and the full gear, leant over and said, in no uncertain terms, that I wasn’t trying hard enough.
“I told him to shut up, like I would tell anyone who said something like that, and walked off.
“Every week I put my body on the line and try my best for my country. So, when someone says something like that, I’m going to react.
“It was quite a reserved reaction for me I think. I’m very happy with it in that circumstance.” A week ago, it was Jones responding to a jibe from the crowd at Ellis Park, now it is his players. It is not a good look, but Brown insists it has nothing to do with not being able to take criticism.
“If someone says, ‘You didn’t play well’, or ‘You made that error’, or ‘You shouldn’t be in the team’, that’s fine, that’s their opinion,” he explained.
“He can say he doesn’t like me as a player and he doesn’t think I can do this, that or the other – that’s also fine. But don’t ever say I’m not trying. “I’ve got 71 caps. Name a time when I haven’t put 100 per cent in. Even if I make mistakes or don’t play very well, not once have I ever taken to a rugby field and not given my all.” Brown came off Twitter at the start of England’s six-game losing run “because it’s not really feedback, it’s abuse”.
He says he felt hurt by Saturday’s slur, not least as it was “probably over-trying rather than undertrying that was our problem”.
Asked if he understood the frustration of travelling fans, he replied: “Does that give someone the right to say I’m not putting the effort in – and swear at me?
“No. Not at all. I get frustrated by a lot of things you write, but I don’t swear at you, do I? There you go – question answered.”