Pain of last two finals ‘has prepared Lions‘
• Robertson motivates with fun, a team band and a family-friendly environment
Lions star Elton Jantjies says the lessons‚ if not the pain‚ of two previous finals are the best preparation a team could hope for going into a third successive Super Rugby climax.
The Crusaders have long been seen as a brutal, uncompromising and brilliant side, but few would have called the Super Rugby titans “fun” until breakdancing coach Scott Robertson took the reins in 2017.
In his first season in charge, Robertson ended eight years of frustration by delivering an eighth Super Rugby title with an away win at the Lions, celebrating the feat on the Ellis Park turf with a routine boasting a headspin and a caterpillar roll.
Rugby League Park might be in for a similar treat on Saturday when the Crusaders host the Lions at their Christchurch stronghold in a repeat of the 2017 final. Few, barring the Lions themselves, give the South Africans any hope of upsetting a team whose dominance has echoes of the golden years when they claimed seven titles from 1998 to 2008.
A former All Blacks loose forward, Robertson featured in the first four of those triumphs during his playing days.
Hailed for his high-intensity approach, he claimed to have earned the nickname “Razor” after boasting that his shoulder had cut Wallabies centre Pat Howard in half in a clash against the Brumbies in 1996.
Despite his pedigree and a coaching CV featuring three titles with Canterbury’s provincial side, with a World Cup win with New Zealand’s Under-20 side, the straggly haired surfer from the Bay of Plenty seemed a left-field choice to replace Todd Blackadder at the end of 2016.
Blackadder’s tenure featured two finals, four semifinals but no trophies, and Robertson, a coach with no Super Rugby experience, was entrusted with ending the drought.
It took little time for him to build a deep bond with a squad that had suffered a few knocks to its confidence in the past few years under Blackadder.
Happy to leave some of the more technical aspects of coaching to his assistants, Robertson focused on motivation, seeking to infuse his players with the same energy that propelled his own coaching.
A meeting at a preseason camp where the players hammered out their goals for the 2017 campaign ended with a jam session after the coach unveiled a team band.
Pranks, singing contests and a more welcoming reception to the families of the players have also marked the time with Robertson in charge.
“I’m not big on fear ruling. I want to make sure we enjoy it, we have fun and people want to come to work,” Robertson said.
With a pack made up mostly of Test forwards and a potent backline, the Crusaders are comfortable playing with width or keeping the game tight.
Like Robertson’s championship breakdancing, it is not always pretty but fans are unlikely to judge the coach too harshly for the aesthetics if the Crusaders end up hoisting the Super Rugby trophy for the ninth time on Saturday.