Crusaders plan for life without Robertson
The Crusaders have multiple contingency plans in place to deal with the unprecedented situation they might soon find themselves in.
Should head coach Scott Robertson be named All Blacks coach next month, the Crusaders will lose the man, and possibly at least one of his assistants, who guided them to three consecutive titles just seven weeks out from the first round of next year’s Super Rugby competition.
It’s a closely guarded secret just who Robertson will name in his coaching team when he interviews to replace Steve Hansen, but there is speculation forwards coach Jason Ryan, who Robertson has worked with since his days in charge of Canterbury, could be in the mix.
The Crusaders have been planning for Robertson’s possible departure since last December, when Hansen announced he would stand down after the World Cup and Robertson declared he would have a tilt at the top job.
‘‘We have been through a plan B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and we’re up to about plan X now,’’ Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge told Stuff.
Mansbridge was coy when asked if a new head coach would be brought in, or if Robertson’s replacement was already on deck, whether a contingency plan was required to be initiated.
However, he hinted the announcement of a fifth coach would be on or around the time of the All Blacks announcement, which is expected on December 12.
Scott Hansen, who was in charge of Japan’s defence this year, Andrew Goodman, fresh from coaching Tasman to their maiden Mitre 10 Cup title, and Ryan are Robertson’s current assistants at the Crusaders.
With Jamie Joseph (Japan) and Dave Rennie (Australia) out of the mix, New Zealand Rugby’s panel looks set to decide between Robertson and Ian Foster, Hansen’s long-time assistant.
‘‘Let’s say he [Robertson] gets the job and he disappears midlate December, a lot of the planning has been done and the process is in train now. They’ve [management] got their plan, they’ve got their [season] theme and they will be ready to go,’’ Mansbridge said.
‘‘Obviously, there is planning in terms of his coaching group and who we are talking to. But we are confident we can approach 2020 as a four-peat, irrespective of what happens.’’
Former All Blacks guru Wayne Smith recently warned NZR not to destroy Super Rugby by ravaging teams of their coaching staff when naming their new top dog, which Mansbridge confirmed NZR was taking into account.
Mansbridge said he would be ‘‘ecstatic’’ if Robertson landed the job, despite the fact he would coach the Crusaders for at least two more seasons if he were overlooked.
Everyone seemingly has an opinion on who should replace Hansen, with many keen for fresh blood, in the form of Robertson, to breathe new life into the World Cup bronze medallists.
However, there are also those who believe Robertson isn’t ready because he hasn’t faced adversity or coached internationally.
Those views puzzled Mansbridge.
‘‘The translation of that statement is you have to fail to be good. Why can’t you just keep getting better? There is no science to say he needs to have failures.’’
Mansbridge pointed out Robertson had handled plenty of ‘‘quite intense’’ adversity, including the flak the Crusaders copped in the aftermath of the March 15 mosque shootings, and off-field incidents while touring South
Africa last year.
‘‘If you think about March 15 and anything else that has happened to us, he thrives on pressure and intensity. He is as pumped up as I have seen him, and I’ve seen him really pumped up a lot. He is right up there,’’ Mansbridge said.
‘‘He loves different things coming at him at different times and he gets really intense, real focused . . . there would be few people who can deal with both those things [preparing the Crusaders and applying for the All Blacks role] at the same time as well as that he can.
‘‘He is different, and that may be challenging for some, but he is special.’’