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Not only do I like Scott Robertson, I also want to like him. As a journalist, I always worked on the principle of disliking the people I covered equally. Inevitably there will be those you actually like – not to mention those you definitely hate – but the job is to treat them all the same.
Praise where it’s due, flattering profiles when appropriate and criticism when it’s merited.
Whether you like them or dislike them, the reader shouldn’t be able to tell.
Column writing is slightly different so, in this instance, I’m flying my colours to the mast.
If you’re asking me whether I want Robertson to do well as All Blacks head coach, I can emphatically answer yes.
It’s not easy finding coaches who are good blokes and good copy. Many are dour and defensive. They make sure you know they hate and disrespect you, yet pack a huge sad if you’re not entirely deferential to them.
I never cared and still don’t. It’s just work, after all. We all go back to our real lives, full of real people at the end of the day.
Robertson isn’t your average coach. He’s not even your average rugby head. In fact I suspect he’s happiest when talking about anything other than our national game.
In his day job, though, he is required to talk about rugby and the things he says are meant to move the needle.
Rugby is about commerce, as much as anything nowadays, and as the figurehead for the game in New Zealand he’s obliged to try and inspire confidence among the rest of us.
I can’t say Robertson managed that in comments I read in recent days, following his appearance on the Rugby Direct Podcast.
In summary, Robertson suggested it took him nearly all of 2024 to work out how to plan a week. Never mind that he’s been coaching for 20 years, the complexities of preparing a team to play on Saturdays seem to have surprised him.
Then there’s the games. Apparently there’s a lot of them and they’re not all played in New Zealand. That means a few nights in hotels. Oh, the horror.
Getting players to learn and remember calls isn’t easy either, nor is the fact that people outside the team environment have opinions on performances.
Robertson should be thankful that our collective expectation that the All Blacks win isn’t what it was when Alex Wyllie, for whom warm tributes are flowing, was head coach.
Thanks to Ian Foster and now Robertson, we’ve become conditioned to winning percentages a lot lower than the 86 Wyllie produced when he was in charge.
But I digress.
What stuck in my craw about Robertson’s comments, was his contention that there’s “no development time’’ for him as head coach.
He claims the All Blacks are one of the “only’’ teams in the world “where you win and develop’’ and that’s a real challenge, apparently.
It shouldn’t be. The All Blacks played 14 Tests in 2024 and, if I’m being uncharitable, only five of those were against credible opposition.
It’s only due to the All Blacks’ own ineptitude that the home clashes with England and games against Argentina and Australia were contests.
Let’s say seven of the Tests were genuine challenges. That still leaves half of the schedule in which to blood whichever players or combinations you like.
This year there’s 13 Tests and we can write the first three against France off for starters, given the squad they’re likely to send.
I get what Robertson was trying to do here. By virtue of being a relatively open and engaging guy, he was trying to give a little bit to the fans.
(Photo by Joe Allison – RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)
Reveal a few of the personal challenges of your first year in charge, peel back a fraction of the curtain between us and the squad, try and appear relatable.
It’s a commendable intent, but it’s actually all just nonsense.
It’s never been easier to be All Blacks head coach. There’s never been less external pressure to perform. We’ve never had more specialist coaches and financial resources thrown at the team.
And yet we get quotes telling us it’s hard being away from home while, in the same breath, talking about theming last year’s trip to the Northern Hemisphere on The Invincibles’ tour of 1924/25. Never mind that team was away for eight months, rather than the eight weeks the All Blacks spend on the road now.
I want Robertson to do well. I want him to be a transformational head coach. I want him to be a worthy inheritor of the legacy of men such as Alex Wyllie.
It’s just that, in the meantime, I’d also like him not to give interviews in which he gives the impression of being overwhelmed by the job at hand.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.