A 27-man Highlanders squad were scheduled to get on the plane this morning to start the long journey to South Africa, fresh off a 50-point towelling of the Stormers.
Brown said it was a good performance which came from a solid week of preparation.
"Our first half was probably the best half of rugby we have played all year. It was very pleasing as everything we talked about all week we executed," Brown said.
"I just think guys prepared better and everyone wanted to play well for Paddy [Patrick Osborne].
"We were a little more in the on and ready to go, willing to win those 50-50 situations and willing to play.
"It’s about being in the zone, creating the mindset you are going to be awesome. All those little things allow a team to go out there and perform at their best."
Brown had plenty of praise for electric Fijian wingers Waisake Naholo and Osborne.
"They have always played good footy for the Highlanders. They’re pretty hard to stop when they have a bit of room to move. I thought they were both outstanding tonight."
Ben Smith picked up a nasty ankle sprain early on but managed to soldier on and saw out the 80 minutes.
"Bender did an awesome job. He hurt his ankle early on and it was giving him a bit of grief early on. But he always plays well and is an outstanding leader and is on top of his game. For him to last 80 minutes with a sore ankle was great for us."
Brown said the nine tries-to-two win was a huge boost to the side with it playing the Cheetahs and Bulls in Africa and then the Force in Perth on the way home.
"We have been building to that sort of performance for a long time now. We have not always played our best rugby in the first rounds but we have had glimpses.
"I think tonight we had about 60 minutes of high quality footy. But there is always something to work on. We are always striving for that 80-minute performance."
Brown said Smith’s ankle looked sore but he would head to South Africa, though he might miss the first game against the Cheetahs.