Leon MacDonald (left) will join the All Blacks as Scott Robertson's assistant. Photo / Getty Images
The Scott Robertson All Blacks era is starting to shape up.
The All Blacks coach-elect, who will take over from Ian Foster after the Rugby World Cup, confirmed on Wednesday the four assistants who will join his coaching team once he officially assumes the reins on November 1.
Jason Ryan, who worked with Robertson at the Crusaders before joining Foster’s team, is the only incumbent All Blacks coach to stay on next year, while Blues head coach Leon MacDonald, Hurricanes head coach Jason Holland and Crusaders assistant coach Scott Hansen make up the rest of the brains trust.
Ryan will continue his role as forwards coach in 2024, with MacDonald and Holland leading the attack and Hansen taking charge of defence.
Robertson confirmed the coaching group was his first choice and said loyalty, success and experience were key factors in his decision to bring them in.
“There’s a real focus on loyalty. They’ve all been loyal to me as a coach; I’ve worked closely with all of them; they’ve been loyal to New Zealand rugby; they’ve coached all the way through the grades and many teams.
“The other one’s success. We’ve all been successful together; we complement each other; we’ve got a shared cohesion – that’s what’s required to have success.
“And probably the last one is the ability to go away and learn their craft. They are experts in their craft. They’ve either gone on to be head coaches somewhere else or gone away and found out a little bit more about themselves as a coach, their areas of strength, and they’ll come back and we’ll all join up and connect and be a really strong coaching group.
“It’s going to be all young and enthusiastic, and it’s an exciting group.”
Nic Gill, who has been a key part of the All Blacks management group since 2008, will stay on as head of performance, with New Zealand Rugby and Robertson still working through the makeup of the rest of the staff.
It means there will likely be a big cleanout heading into the new era, with current All Blacks assistant coaches Greg Feek and Scott McLeod among those set to be ushered out.
Robertson confirmed both Feek and McLeod expressed interest in joining his coaching team, but they didn’t fit into his plans.
“We had conversations with them. I said to them that these are my preferred candidates.”
Robertson admits losing four top coaches from Super Rugby will create a big vacuum in New Zealand rugby, especially at the Crusaders, but he’s confident the right replacements will be found.
“It’s tough,” he said when asked about the hole that will be left at the Crusaders. “Scott Hansen is an incredible coach and for two of us to leave at the same time, it’s a challenge there’s no doubt. And obviously with Jason last year, so that’s some good men. But they’ll find somebody else to take over a great organisation.”
NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson said the succession process for Super Rugby franchises was already underway.
“We know early and we’re working already with the franchises. We understand that they’ve got a lot of work to do and we’ll be right there to support them all the way through our high-performance and contracting teams.”
Robertson kept his cards close to his chest as to the style of rugby he would like to see at the All Blacks – “we will divulge that closer to the time with the old game plan side of it” – partly in respect for the current coaching team ahead of a World Cup.
In the meantime, he is going to soak up everything he can to prepare for the step up to test rugby, including attending the World Cup later this year.
“Test football is different. It’s different pressures and different pressure cycles. It’s different to Super Rugby, we know that. Having played it and been around it and watched it for a long period of time and you look at the trends, the game will play different so you have to adapt to it. And as a coaching group, we will.
“I think it’s really important that I go [to the World Cup] and watch and become involved and understand how the tournament works and look from a coaching point of view, not a fan point of view.
“I’ll spend a couple of weeks and have full respect with the distance from the current All Black group and go with some clear objectives with what I can learn from the tournament.”