Scott Robertson accepts that the All Blacks failed to win the “key moments” in his first season in charge but believes the three-time world champions are “getting better” and on the right track.
After Ian Foster’s turbulent four-year reign ended in last year’s World Cup final, there were high hopes that Robertson’s magic touch in Super Rugby would flow onto the international arena with the All Blacks.
Despite a couple of nervy first-up wins, it didn’t as the All Blacks lost three of their opening four Rugby Championship fixtures, including consecutive defeats in South Africa, to immediately end Robertson’s honeymoon. It also saw Leon MacDonald abruptly depart the All Blacks during The Rugby Championship, with Robertson saying the pair “didn’t click”.
Although the All Blacks responded by keeping hold of the Bledisloe Cup, an agonising one-point defeat at the Stade de France to Les Bleus and a less than convincing 18-point win over Italy in Turin ensured Robertson won’t be able to completely let his hair down over the Christmas period.
New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson finished with a 10-4 win-loss record in his first season in charge. (Photo By Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Indeed, last week’s defeat meant that of the past five All Blacks coaches, Robertson’s record after 14 Tests in the worst.
His 10-4 win-loss record gave him a 71 per cent record to finish his first season in charge, short of John Mitchell and Foster (78%), as well as Steve Hansen and Graham Henry (85%).
“That just shows he’s there or there abouts, he’s not far away,” former All Blacks winger Jeff Wilson said.
Former All Blacks back-rower Steven Bates said the real numbers were that Robertson’s side won just two of six Tests against sides currently in the top five of the World Rugby rankings, after losing two Tests against the Springboks and one against Argentina in New Zealand.
“When you look at those stats, I think we were two from six against top-five team – that’s the real stat,” Bates said. “That’s what the All Blacks are measured on, really.
“In saying that, the landscape has changed a little bit. Steve Hansen, Graham Henry, that was a long time ago. Do we accept that the landscape has changed around world rugby, or do we just expect that ‘no, no, no we’re the All Blacks, we should win all the time and win everything?’
Recent All Blacks prop Angus Ta’avao said it was important to note that the previous two All Blacks coaches were already established in the national side and Robertson was having to regenerate them completely following Foster’s departure, as well as several household names including Dane Coles, Sam Whitelock and Aaron Smith.
“You look at those coaches, that’s one coaching change,” Ta’avao said. “My argument is it’s more than that, it’s assistants, it’s back staff, it’s the mentality and what’s up on your walls.
“In order to grow you have to change.
“Graham Henry, Steve Hansen under him, Ian Foster under him: they’ve all succeeded each other. This is fresh. I never expected it to be all roses straight away, I thought there was going to be some growing pains but what I’m encouraged by is the growth we’ve seen this year.”
Damian McKenzie spent most of the year at fly-half but finished the campaign on the bench. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Robertson said “everything” had surprised him about his first season in charge of the All Blacks despite entering the role as a former player and a seven-time Super Rugby-winning mentor.
“There’s always expectations,” he said.
“The great thing about our game is everyone’s got an opinion, and so they should, it’s the country’s team and you’ve got to respect that and make the right decisions.
“I’ve been myself, made sure we’ve prepared the boys as best as we possibly could to be brave on the field.”
Asked to sum up his year, Robertson said they hadn’t quite delivered in the “key moments”.
“We’ve had three games that are one-score moments, big moments in Test matches that could have gone the other way,” he said.
“Look, I’m so proud of the mindset and the growth of the group. We’ve gained so much, we’ve played some unbelievable footy, but Test footy is about key moments, making the right decisions and finding the way, and we just haven’t quite got that.
“We’ve got a tight group on and off the field and we’re just [gestures a fraction] that far away. I’m learning and we’re learning, and we’re getting better.”
His skipper, Scott Barrett, agreed: “We improved as the season went on and I’m pleased with the way this team is going.”
Robertson came under scrutiny for not ushering through enough new faces earlier in the Test campaign, including in Turin where the former back-rower named a full-strength side despite facing the world No.10.
“That’s why we named the team we did,” Robertson said. “When they’re on, they’re on. They’re physical, they got double shoulders on us. Mindset wise, we were slightly off and they smelt it and it became a tough one, but we found a way.”
Wallace Sititi was the All Blacks’ find of the year. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Outgoing All Blacks TJ Perenara and Sam Cane regularly were selected, while Rieko Ioane, who was on the side’s best in Italy, struggled to get going while Billy Proctor, who was sensational on debut against Fiji in the USA, regularly sat in the stands.
But Robertson, who handed debuts to ten players in 2024 (the most since 2018), said it was vital he didn’t dispense with his experienced players so quickly after the departures of so many players following last year’s World Cup heartbreak.
“We’ve got a good balance,” said Robertson, who unearthed World Rugby rookie of the year Wallace Sititi, and saw real progress in the tight-five, including Tupou Vaa’i.
“People say, ‘Why didn’t you play more young guys?’ Every Test has its pressures and being in the environment actually helps set you up.
“Wallace, you could see him, he was training and feeling it and ready mentally and physically, and he went and performed, and we kept him in there.
“You don’t just chuck someone out there, you’ve got to have them around experience and that’s something we’re very proud of, those guys coming in and performing.”
The All Blacks host France next July in their next international.
