Pat Lam: 'I feel gutted for him. He is a good friend'

Bristol Bears boss Pat Lam admits he was gutted when his close friend Scott Robertson was sacked by the All Blacks, but says he will bounce back and be successful in his next job.

Former New Zealand sevens international Lam, who played once for the All Blacks in a non-Test match against Sydney in 1992, believes Robertson was burdened by history. He points out that no other All Blacks coach lost as many players as Robertson did after the 2023 World Cup, and that he had begun to steer them in the right direction.

“I’m really surprised, I feel gutted for him. He is a good friend. I thought it was way, way against what New Zealand Rugby normally do. It was a shock for that to happen, but he will bounce back. We all do.

“Every coach has been sacked, but he is that good that he will end up somewhere and will be successful. We have to remember he inherited a team post-World Cup that had more senior players leave than at any other time.

“When you look back, the real difficulty is going to be the history of the All Blacks winning and breaking records. Losing a huge chunk of experience, it’s happened previously, but not as much as happened to Scotty.

“What he has done is bring in a lot of new players. I believe he got the group to the right place. I’m shocked because he is an outstanding coach. You don’t win seven Super Rugby titles unless you are an outstanding coach.

“Don’t forget, they were Super Rugby titles when the South African teams were in it, travelling home and away. People were waxing lyrical about us beating the Bulls in Pretoria.

“We thought we had the record of 61 points, but the Crusaders set the record at 62 points when Scott coached them. But he has achieved so much. I was massively surprised,” he said.

The only other All Blacks coach to leave his job between World Cup tournaments was Wayne Smith in 2001, and Lam is surprised that he wasn’t part of the panel that decided Robertson’s fate.

“Wayne Smith is the icon of coaching, the most revered coach in New Zealand. You saw what he did with the Black Ferns when England have all the resources.

“And what he did with New Zealand to win the World Cup at home was massive, and you saw the difference when he wasn’t involved. But for him not to be involved in the review, I was really surprised when I heard that.

“Wayne was also disappointed and shocked by this happening, but it’s done now, and accountability lies with the board. They made the call, and they believe they will choose someone to be more successful, and we hope that’s the case,” he added.