Razor era should mean plenty of song and dance
From the time Scott Robertson was first selected to coach the Crusaders, there have been a section of people in rugby spooked by him.
The naysayers found their major negative bullet point in his breakdancing after a title victory, a tradition that had started when he was coaching the Canterbury provincial team, and one the players refused to let him drop.
Critics added in the fact he departed from the usual tradition of coaches giving interviews with all the gusto of a dental patient waiting for a root canal, and came to the conclusion he was a bright-eyed, cheerful lightweight.
Yes, he is different. But like the best coaches, away from the spotlight, he lives, breathes and dreams the game to a degree that means there have been times when he’s struggled to sleep, with plans and tactics whirring through his mind.
Last year, Wayne Smith’s son Nick, during an interview for Wayne’s book, wasn’t really joking when he mused his father could probably keep rugby out of his mind for a day, “or maybe just an afternoon”. That sort of commitment is what makes the great coaches different. Smith has always had it, and so does Robertson.
Friends in the right places
The people Robertson has gathered as his coaching team offer a mix of experience that ranges from Jason Ryan whipping last year’s World Cup All Black pack into shape, to fitness guru Nic Gill, who first worked with the All Blacks 20 years ago.
At the 2023 Cup in France, Ryan basically made a mockery of the theory that coaching experience outside New Zealand is essential to being involved in test rugby. In the deep, sweaty depths of the staggering number of scrums he packed during a 180-game club career with Sydenham in Christchurch, he forged an attitude that fits with his now proven skill set.
Electric as the main grid
Until Robertson came along, the most vibrant All Blacks coach I’d known was the unbeaten legend of the 1960s, Sir Fred Allen.
Many hugely gifted men, such as the knights, Brian Lochore, Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith, have been inspiring, towering figures.
Ian Foster almost produced the greatest redemption story in the history of New Zealand sport at last year’s World Cup.
But even decades after his coaching days were over, nobody made the air crackle round him like Allen did, until Robertson arrived.
In many ways, Robertson is hugely different from Allen, who could be so intimidating, Colin Meads once said: “Fred was the sort of joker that when he came in the room, you sort of found yourself sitting up straighter.”
Robertson isn’t world famous in Christchurch for scaring players. But as far as wearing their passion on their sleeves goes, Allen and Robertson strike me as twin sons of different mothers.
The climb gets steeper gradually
Brutal Kiwi keyboard warriors and bar leaner critics rarely allow early wriggle room for a new coach. So there’s reason to be grateful England, not Ireland, will tour New Zealand in July.
Tests with Fiji in San Diego and Argentina in New Zealand follow before the first of two clashes with the Springboks in South Africa.
If the fates had conspired to begin the international programme with Ireland and South Africa, for a new All Blacks coach to have a successful start, he might need to be someone capable of walking across the Indian Ocean to Durban.
Without denigrating the improving English, Ireland are the form side in the Six Nations this year.
The world champion Springboks, at home, using their brutal tactic of what amounts to a new forward pack lumbering on for the second half, are a scary prospect.
But there’s a realistic hope the All Blacks will have developed matchplay unity and confidence by the time they run out at Johannesburg for the first Springboks test on August 31.