FROM THE EDITOR

Next month will see the naming of Scott Robertson’s first All Blacks squad. It’s been a long time coming for the man they call ‘razor’, having been given the job in March 2023. He was the right man for it. If he wasn’t the right man, then Super Rugby results count for nothing and it would have made a mockery of pathways for our elite coaches.

New Zealand Rugby had no choice but to go early, or they may have lost him abroad, as we saw with Dave Rennie heading to the Wallabies in 2020. This caused a bit of a stir at the time, but the correct decision was made. Robertson had also made adjustments to how he presented his ideas, essentially upskilling himself.

There is, of course, far more to the All Blacks head coaching role than just leading a winning team on the field. The duties are myriad and varied, reflecting the status of the position and the pay packet.

Dealing with the media is one of those duties. You would be naïve in the extreme to treat them as an annoyance and a distraction to your core task. Steve Hansen learned quickly that positive results are only part of the recipe for favourable coverage.

Robertson seems to have started well in this regard. He gave 35 minutes of time exclusively to Rugby News last month, was mostly candid and even willing to give some ‘off the record’ comment, always a good pointer when it comes to the two-way trust street.

In my 23-year tenure as a rugby writer, there have been five All Blacks coaches. John Mitchell failed to cultivate decent media relations, despite being a decent technical coach and posting a solid record.

Graham Henry could be very droll and forthcoming with media, or he could be very cutting and dismissive. But his record stacked up. He was predominantly old school in his approach, but was also adaptable. He was, lest we forget, a master strategist.

I never had much to do with Hansen, whose record was top shelf, but he was not easily trusting with those in the fourth estate he did not know well. One senior rugby writer became almost his mouthpiece, and for that I’m sure Hansen was very grateful, if not readers who wanted to see some more intense scrutiny of the All Blacks coach.

My first interview with Ian Foster in 2020 was just about the easiest I teed up that year. Sometimes it can feel like penetrating the Kremlin. While Foster and I get on fine, there was an edge to my last interview with him, in November 2023. He was off contract but not ready to unload. His relations with media never recovered from the troubles of winter 2022.

‘Razor’ is a fresh face with new ideas and represents the first break from the previous regime since 2003 when Henry replaced Mitchell. I have a feeling he’s going to be good value for both the media and public, but he’s going to need a thick skin to ride out the tough periods.

Talking to a handful of local journos at Rugby Park in Crusader-mode will be starkly different to the glare of a full All Blacks press conference with a load of tired hacks bearing other agendas who need swift soundbites. ‘Razor’ will need to be quick on his feet and, most of all, he’ll need to retain his sense of humour. We wish him well.