All Blacks coach Scott Robertson sets plan for Perth Bledisloe Cup Test

Scott Robertson’s All Blacks have continued their recent run of one win and one defeat in the Rugby Championship, using their hot start against the Wallabies to their advantage at Eden Park on Saturday afternoon.

Robertson and his coaching staff made sure that their side would hold onto not only the Bledisloe Cup for another year, but the Eden Park unbeaten streak as well.

But with those two monkeys off the back, the All Blacks will need to back this up next weekend in Perth, if they want any chance of winning the Rugby Championship.

Robertson, who laughed and said thanks for reminding him about the inconsistency of his side, says that the goal for every great team is to be consistent.

“The ultimate for every sports team is the ability to be consistent, it’s what we need to do. You know, some patches in these matches were unreal, and you’re not always going to swing and hit that and just get to be consistent.

“But as Ardie said, is when it’s not going our way, how can you get it come back your way, and the great opportunity is to get over to Perth and the story continues like it’s gonna go right down to last round, isn’t it, for who wins this championship.”

The All Blacks burst out of the gates in the opening ten minutes, spreading the ball wide to Blues winger Caleb Clarke, who scored his first try of the International season after an emotional pre-match moment in the anthems.

Clarke was unaware that his father, and former All Black Eroni Clarke, was going to be singing the National Anthem in front of 46,437 fans in Auckland.

Robertson told media post-match at Eden Park that it was a “great father and son moment”.

“It’s a wee gift, isn’t it? It was emotional for Caleb, and it was a great father son moment, and great moment for the country too.”

Not only was it a special night for Clarke, but Robertson made sure to congratulate Wallabies stalwart James Slipper, who brought up 150 Test matches on Saturday,

“I’d just like to start by congratulating James on an incredible achievement, 150 is pretty incredible.

“He’s incredibly physically tough, mentally tough, and probably more importantly he’s a good man.”

The second half performance has often been an Achilles heel for this All Blacks side under Robertson, but the 51-year-old was pleased overall with the key moments.

“Good second half, I say with a laugh, but it was nice you know, we put the pressure back on them, and won a couple of really big moments and great impact from the guys off the bench.

“We’d go up a couple scores and they just kept in it, big moments and again just shows the care for the cup.”

During the week, Robertson talked about how it was “nice to welcome back some halfbacks” for the Test against the Wallabies, and 24-year-old halfback Cameron Roigard proved exactly why his boss was happy.

The halfback had been injured during some of the Rugby Championship, but returned for the last home Test of the year, where he bagged a double, one of which sealing the deal in the 76th minute.

“He went deep because we didn’t have any reserves, so with the early subs with Beauden obviously going off, and Ethan de Groot with the head knock, Tupou Vaa’i with a bit of a knee as well  so, yeah it was a  great shift.

“He’s just a quality athlete, isn’t he, and quality rugby player as well.”