All Blacks: What to expect from Scott Robertson’s second season
Year one proved a rocky ride as All Blacks coach Scott Robertson stepped up from Super Rugby to the white-hot examination of the Test scene.
As he prepares for his second season at the helm, starting with three home Tests against a second-string French team, Liam Napier explains the lessons Robertson’s All Blacks must absorb.
Expectations did not match reality:
After leading the Crusaders to seven successive titles Robertson was widely dubbed something of a messiah and, therefore, expected to handle his elevation to the All Blacks with relative aplomb. He would, it was assumed, take the reins from Ian Foster and chart the All Blacks to the next level.
Robertson instead endured a challenging, steep learning curve as he came to grips with the myriad pressure points Test rugby imposes.
Relief was palpable as the All Blacks escaped Robertson’s first Test in charge last year with a one-point victory after England playmaker Marcus Smith missed several match-winning shots at goal.
The following week the All Blacks needed Beauden Barrett to emerge from the bench with a defining cameo to avoid defeat at Eden Park.
While the All Blacks gradually improved as the season progressed, with the upset over Ireland in Dublin the undoubted highlight, they finished with a 10-4 record that underscores the improvement demanded from Robertson’s year two.
The overarching takeaway from Robertson’s maiden season leading the All Blacks is that Test rugby is, indeed, an entirely different beast.
Where will the All Blacks seek to improve?
All four Tests the All Blacks lost in 2024 – two in South Africa, the shock defeat against the Pumas in Wellington and blowing an unbeaten northern tour with their one-point loss in Paris – they led at half time.
Fixing those second half fades by lifting impact from the bench, improving attacking accuracy and discipline, are major focuses.
“A lot of our review in the offseason was around that game because we gave ourselves so many chances to win it but we didn’t so why,” Robertson said of the loss in Paris.
“We felt we had our best two weeks with the Irish and French and we didn’t get the result we deserve. Sometimes you don’t get that in Test matches with the bounce of the ball.”
With a year under their belts the All Blacks know how they want to tackle year two – by embracing big ball carriers consistently punching forward, harnessing set-piece strength, attacking space and chasing turnovers.
“We want to play fast,” Robertson said. “We think the game is in a great place for us; quick scrums, quick lineouts, taps. Our skill set trends to us playing fast and creating. That’s what we’ll push all week.”
Better navigating the compressed start to the year:
Robertson’s extended coaching team is largely settled after Scott Hansen assumed the attack brief following Leon MacDonald’s abrupt midyear departure, with Tamati Ellison’s contact and breakdown expertise summoned to complement the group.
The only minor tweak this year is Hurricanes lineout specialist Bryn Evans replacing Corey Flynn’s part-time throwing services.
With 18 new management, the All Blacks’ largest coaching change in two decades, joining Robertson’s arrival, last year was no smooth transition. And it showed.
This time last year the All Blacks coaching team were guilty of overloading players in their first week together which resulted in too much clutter bogging them down.
This year Robertson and his management will navigate this opening 10-day window before their opening Test better by staggering the necessary detail over the coming weeks.
“It’s a fine balance because you’ve got to give them enough but not too much,” Robertson said. “You might go through the lineouts and you get a few more than you think and you’ve used up the menu so what are we going to go to now?
“We’ve got a lot of experience here. You get great feedback, you check in.”
Selection rethink:
Robertson’s 33-man squad for three tTests against the understrength French now features six rookies (prop Ollie Norris, Highlanders duo Timoci Tavatavanawai and Fabian Holland, loose forwards Du’Plessis Kirifi and Christian Lio-Willie and Chiefs hooker Brodie McAlister) after Wallace Sititi and Tamaiti Williams dropped out for surgery.
Last year the All Blacks blooded 10 rookies following the traditional post World Cup departures but as pressure mounted, conservatism significantly stunted development with progressive selections only made when injuries forced their hand.
The final Test of the year against Italy was one glaring missed opportunity to grow fringe prospects.
This year Robertson is promising to be braver, bolder, in promoting new talent.
Other than the fresh faces Hurricanes centre Billy Proctor needs much more game time after sitting out last year’s Rugby Championship. What to expect from the French?
Unpredictable is an overused trope but when almost half – 18 of their 37-man squad – are uncapped, it’s fair to suggest no one knows how this French team will come together.
With an average age of 25 and nine caps per player, this is a decidedly green French squad.
Five Top 14 finalists – lock Joshua Brennan (Toulouse), flankers Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer and Pierre Bochaton (Bordeaux-Bègles), midfielders Nicolas Depoortere (Bordeaux-Bègles) and Pierre-Louis Barassi (Toulouse) – will join the squad after this weekend’s first Test in Dunedin.
A longstanding agreement with the clubs prevents France from selecting their best players in this July window.
It’s a great shame, an insult to Test rugby, that France essentially disregards this tour but the All Blacks can only play who is in front of them.
Robertson is clearly wary of the narrative surrounding the French B team.
“One thing about the French is they have depth. He [French coach Fabien Galthié] has done that over the last few years with the players he’s brought in. This is when they’re probably at their most dangerous, when they are underestimated.
“It’s quite nice you guys tell the story that they are depleted and then they get their backs up and we get a ferocious French team.”
Regardless of those headline French absentees, the All Blacks won’t lack motivation after losing their last three cracks at Les Bleus.
“2018 is a long time since we’ve sung a song in our changing room after we’ve won so we’re well aware of the contest ahead.”
Source: espn.com