Olo Brown pictured on the on 1st. November 1995. Photo G Herringshaw. ©
Career Record: Played 56, Won 40, Drew 2, Lost 14
Test Points: 20
Tries: 4
1992 v Ireland (Wellington) W 59-6
1992 v Australia (Sydney) L 16-15
1992 v Australia (Brisbane) L 19-17
1992 v Australia (Sydney) W 26-23
1992 v South Africa (Jo'burg) W 27-24
1993 v British Lions (Christchurch) W 20-18
1993 v British Lions (Wellington) L 20-7
1993 v British Lions (Auckland) W 30-13
1993 v Australia (Dunedin) W 25-10
1993 v Scotland (Murrayfield) W 51-15
1993 v England (Twickenham) L 15-9
1994 v France (Christchurch) L 22-8
1994 v France (Auckland) L 23-20
1994 v South Africa (Dunedin) W 22-14
1994 v South Africa (Wellington) W 13-9
1994 v South Africa (Auckland) D 18-18
1994 v Australia (Sydney) L 20-16
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1995 v Canada (Auckland) W 73-7
1995 v Ireland (Joburg) W 43-19 (W.Cup)
1995 v Wales (Joburg) W 34-9 (W.Cup)
1995 v Scotland (Pretoria) W 48-30 (W.Cup)
1995 v England (Cape Town) W 45-29 (W.Cup)
1995 v South Africa (Joburg) L 15-12 (W.Cup Final)
1995 v Australia (Auckland) W 28-16
1995 v Australia (Sydney) W 34-23
1995 v Italy (Bologna) W 70-6
1995 v France (Toulouse) L 22-15
1995 v France (Paris) W 37-12
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This shot of Olo was taken on 22nd November 1997. Photo G. Herringshaw. ©
New Zealand Caps 1996-1998
1996 v Western Samoa (Napier) W 51-10
1996 v Scotland (Dunedin) W 62-31
1996 v Scotland (Auckland) W 36-12
1996 v Australia (Wellington) W 43-6 (TN)
1996 v South Africa (Christchurch) W 15-11 (TN)
1996 v Australia (Brisbane) W 32-25 (TN)
1996 v South Africa (Cape Town) W 29-18 (TN)
1996 v South Africa (Durban) W 23-19
1996 v South Africa (Pretoria) W 33-26
1996 v South Africa (Joburg) L 32-22
1997 v Fiji (Albany) W 71-5
1997 v Argentina (Wellington) W 93-8
1997 v Argentina (Hamilton) W 62-10
1997 v Australia (Christchurch) W 30-13
1997 v South Africa (Joburg) W 35-22 (TN)
1997 v Australia (Melbourne) W 33-18 (TN)
1997 v South Africa (Auckland) W 55-35 (TN)
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1997 v Australia (Dunedin) W 36-24 (TN)
1997 v Ireland (Dublin) W 63-15
1997 v England (Manchester) W 25-8
1997 v Wales (Wembley) W 42-7
1997 v England (Twickenham) D 26-26
1998 v England (Dunedin) W 64-22
1998 v England (Auckland) W 40-10
1998 v Australia (Melbourne) L 24-16 (TN)
1998 v South Africa (Wellington) L 13-3 (TN)
1998 v Australia (Christchurch) L 27-23 (TN)
1998 v South Africa (Durban) L 24-23 (TN)
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Olo Brown pictured on 1st November 1995. Image G Herringshaw. ©
| In terms of week in-week out performances, tight head prop Olo Brown was one of the most consistent players to don the All Black jersey during the 1990s. Together with Sean Fitzpatrick and Craig Dowd, Olo formed part of a record breaking front three partnership that laid the foundation for many an outstanding New Zealand performance during this period. Off the field Olo was a very popular member of the All Black camp, a peaceful and thoughtful soul who could often be found quietly playing chess with a teammate during the midst of a frenetic tour. Because of his unassuming demeanor, Olo was sometimes underrated, but those props who had to actually play against the Auckland man rate him as one of the best practitioners of the art in the world. His debut came in 1992 against Ireland, a series which saw Sean Fitzpatrick captain the side for the first time and the ushering in of a new era of professionalism and team spirit. The rubber was won convincingly and Olo played superbly under the tutelage of veteran loose head Steve McDowell, but it was really only a dry run for the visit of the British Lions in 1993. The first match was won, but the opposition forwards were dominant in the second test and the Blacks went down 20-7. Sean Fitzpatrick in particular admitted that his own performance had been found wanting, but coach Laurie Mains refused to accept that the touring front three of Jason Leonard, Brian Moore and Nick Popplewell were in any way superior to his men. With pride at stake, Mains threw down the gauntlet to Fitzy, Dowd and Olo, and in the final game they turned on the power to help New Zealand to a 30-13 victory. New Zealand improved further over the next two years, reaching a peak in the 1995 World Cup, but the final was eventually lost to South Africa in dubious circumstances. (Jon Collins) |
Olo Brown pictured playing for New Zealand on 15th. November 1997.
Photo Nigel French © G.H.
1996 - 1998.
| One might have expected post World Cup year to have been a quiet one for New Zealand given the massive disappointment suffered in the 1995 tournament. On the contrary, the All Blacks actually became stronger in the 1996 season and proved conclusively that they were the best side in the world by some margin. In an unforgettable campaign, New Zealand won both the inaugural Tri-Nations trophy and a prized series win on South African soil. The successes of that year can be partially attributed to consistency of selection. Indeed, Olo and his fellow forwards Sean Fitzpatrick, Craig Dowd, Ian Jones, Robin Brooke, Josh Kronfeld, Michael Jones and Zinzan Brooke played in all ten tests together that year, providing a dominant platform on which the talented backs could operate. One of their closest games was the 32-25 victory over Australia in Brisbane, a match in which New Zealand were behind until very late in the day and one that coach John Hart would later describe as "The Great Escape". The year after New Zealand continued in the same vein, with another victory in the Tri Nations and a successful UK tour which ended in a memorable 26-26 draw with England. Sadly, Olo's international career came to a premature end during the disastrous 1998 season. He suffered a prolapsed spinal disc in the Tri-Nations Test against South Africa in Durban and would play no more rugby in an All Black shirt. With Fitzy already retired through injury, Olo's loss was a major blow to New Zealand's World Cup hopes. Indeed, although the side impressed on their way to the semi-finals, without their famous front three formation they lacked steel and went down to the mercurial French in a see-saw encounter. In total, Olo played in 56 tests and scored 4 tries, including a prized touch down against his native Samoa in 1996. (Jon Collins) |