All black. Future coach Scott Robertson: “The French XV must win at home”

Tuesday, March 21, 2023, current head coach of the Crusaders (Super Rugby), Scott Robertson (Age 48), Named New All Blacks Head Coach, 2024-2027. That’s OK, Rugby News He was present in Christchurch and was able to interview him during the Crusaders’ weekly press conference. a Delicious time.

A date tested as “a dream and a relief”

It’s 8 a.m. on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at Rugby Park, the training center for the legendary Crusaders, 13-time Super Rugby winners. Several New Zealand journalists are in place, microphones are on the poles and cameras are on. Everyone is waiting for the future coach of the All Blacks, who will take over after the 2023 World Cup in place of Ian Foster. Current Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson arrived with a wide smile. A few members of the team’s management staff congratulate him before his weekly press conference.

But this press conference is a bit special. Scott Robertson is no longer the coach of the team that has won 13 Super Rugby titles, including 6 in his reign (since 2017). From now on, he is also the future coach of the legendary All Blacks. The technician will hold his position in 2024 for a period of three years until 2027 and the World Cup in Australia.

The day after his appointment was announced at New Zealand Rugby Union headquarters in Wellington, the vast majority of questions posed to ‘Razor’ logically pertained to his next stint at the helm of New Zealand. Zeeland. And the feelings were still there that morning. “I got a lot of messages last night (Tuesday) and I’m still getting them. When I came back, we met as a family,” says Scott Robertson, who returned from Wellington Monday evening, after the press conference.

“Are You Sure?”: When Scott Robertson’s Dad Doesn’t Believe Her…

Then the person concerned returned fully to the features of his appointment, which many New Zealanders had been eagerly awaiting. “The New Zealand Rugby Union had a very clear, professional, robust and meticulous process. My state of mind in front of the board (manager’s office) was to be calm and clear and remain original while I explained what I could bring to the All Blacks,” Scott Robertson confides to reporters who came in droves. He continued, “It was the work behind the scenes and now I am focused on the Crusaders and the rest of the season.” The entire team has supported him through the process.

If this announcement was awaited by an entire country, with Scott Robertson as the front-runner to succeed Ian Foster, the person concerned experienced the moment as a “dream fulfillment” but also a “relief”. Moreover, this feeling is shared by his wife. “My wife, Jane, was like me. He was comforted by the ad.” Feeling “nervous” also for his parents, Mo and Jo.

He recounts the emotion in his eyes about the powerful conversation he had with his father: “It was a phone conversation joking. I had to tell my dad three times that I got the job. He replied: “Are you sure? Yes, I am sure (laughs)… There were a lot of confirmations (laughs). He ends the story by saying that his father answered him: “Not in the newspaper. I haven’t seen it in the media yet. »

“DuPont is really very good…he should change the way he plays (laughs)”

Even if his assumption of office is a long way off, given that he will be effective in 2024 at the end of the World Cup in France, Scott Robertson, one of the best current tacticians in world rugby, agreed to give his opinion on the France XV. He begins his answer with a touch of humor: Antoine Dupont is really very good… I think he should change the way he plays. Before continuing even more seriously: “The best thing Fabian (Galthi) did was do it Creating a strong culture and a really clear identity. I have great respect for what the French have accomplished Perpignan’s former third midfield (54 matches from 2003 to 2006) stands out.

Even Scott Robertson agreed to answer the deliberately provocative question: Will the Blues be world champions in 2023? “They are bound to win at home,” he laughs, before setting out. “They have the ability to do that because they know how to play under pressure. »

But now, for the Crusaders coach, time is back in business. After beating the Blues at Eden Park, Scott Robertson and the Christchurch players will have plenty to do on Friday, March 24, 2023 against Brumby’s Australia, who are unbeaten this season in Super Rugby.

Nicholas Dundry, from Rugby Park in Christchurch (New Zealand)

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