Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson. Photo / Getty Images
Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson. Photo / Getty Images
OPINION:
Having spent several weeks pondering great, good, average, and just not very good All Blacks coaches, it became clear the best coaches were the innovators.
You could look at Graham Henry, agreeing with his captain Tana Umaga in 2005 that the time for long, fiery team talks had gone.You could travel right down the time tunnel to Fred Allen in the 1960s, persuading forwards like Colin Meads that attacking rugby was the way to go, and all they needed to do was get a bit fitter, “because there’ll still be rucks, they’ll just be further across the field”.
That outside-the-square mentality is why, in what is now a two-man race between Jamie Joseph and Scott Robertson, the coach from 2024 should be Robertson.
Please don’t take this for one second as denigrating Joseph and his comrade in arms, Tony Brown. Their record with Japan at the 2019 World Cup was extraordinary, topping their pool after beating Ireland and Wales, and only losing 26-3 to ultimate winners South Africa.
I’ve seen at close range how much passion Joseph brings to rugby. The day after the All Blacks lost the 1995 World Cup final the two of us sat in a Johannesburg hotel room waiting to broadcast back to New Zealand. Joseph was so incandescent with frustration he made The Incredible Hulk look wimpish.
Joseph also showed great depth of character in the brilliant documentary 1 To 39: The Highanders Story, when he was told by a brave player, Nasi Manu, that the terrible 2013 season the Highlanders had just suffered could be partly blamed on Joseph not treating all players equally. There was no angry denial from Joseph, who carefully considered the situation and appointed Manu co-captain with Ben Smith. The Highlanders won their only Super title in 2015.
So why do I still lean to Robertson? Because in decades of reporting on New Zealand rugby, the only coach I’ve met who burned with the same fervour as Robertson was Allen.
Fred "The Needle" Allen was undefeated in 14 tests as All Blacks coach. Photo / NZ Listener
Eddie Jones has some of the same traits, but the problem with Fast Eddie is that so many of his players note that he never knows when to switch off, and, in plain terms, not be a snarky know-all with his assistants and players.
Robertson’s energy is always positive, so much so that when he first moved to Christchurch as a bright-eyed kid from Mt Maunganui to play for the Crusaders, it took some older teammates a while to realise his keenness at training was completely genuine, not an attempt to ingratiate himself with coach Vance Stewart.
There will be rebuilding to do after the World Cup in France, as stalwarts like Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Sam Cane and Aaron Smith are unlikely to be around for the 2027 World Cup. When it comes to relating to and getting the best from new men, Robertson is outstanding.
Diehards who don’t like his breakdancing after Super Rugby victories should maybe consider that I’ve never met a man or woman under 40 who was offended by it. To steal and then paraphrase a line from a critic who once wrote about rock ‘n’ roll and Bruce Springsteen: I’ve seen the future of All Blacks rugby, and it’s called Scott Robertson.
Why so few seek the All Blacks job
A fair point was raised this week by Gregor Paul about why so few chase the All Blacks coaching job. I’d suggest there are three main reasons.
One: If you’re not a Kiwi, as Elliott Smith has also pointed out here, don’t bother. Like South Africa and France, the idea of an imported head coach for the All Blacks is abhorrent to Kiwis. So the majority of potential candidates are immediately scratched.
Two: Impatience. Kiwi coaches who have been coaching overseas for some time probably realise they’ll need to come home and work their way back into the game here, the way Graham Henry did as an adviser in 2002-03 with Auckland after he returned from Wales. A grim case study of what happens when you jump straight in? The eight-game, eight-loss Super Rugby return to the Chiefs of Warren Gatland, a hugely successful coach in the northern hemisphere.
Three: Too little money for the pressure. Given that an All Blacks coach may as well wear a target on his back with the words “In case of a loss fire darts and arrows at will” printed under it, how much better is it to make a bigger wage overseas, where expectations are probably lower.
