New Zealand Rugby still have a tightrope to walk with Scott Robertson

While Scott Roberton’s commitment to the Crusaders’ 2023 Super Rugby Pacific campaign was cause for a sigh of relief for some Kiwi fans, independent rugby pundit Jamie Wall remains sceptical of Robertson’s future in New Zealand.

Robertson’s name was thrown about in discussions for numerous national coaching roles throughout 2022. First, with the All Blacks‘ early struggles, then with the firing of Wayne Pivac of Wales and Eddie Jones of England. While Foster’s position was confirmed through to the conclusion of the 2023 World Cup, Pivac was promptly replaced by his predecessor in Warren Gatland and Jones’ replacement was eventually confirmed in Steve Borthwick, leaving Robertson to continue his unprecedentedly successful reign as the Crusaders’ mastermind.

2022 being the penultimate season of the World Cup cycle had the majority of Tier One Rugby Unions under pressure to ensure their national side’s chances at the World Cup were maximised by the current coaching staff, and although that major deadline has now passed, focus will shift to succession planning while potential scrutiny over the decisions made will remain ever-present and of course, be dictated by results.

“I don’t think they (New Zealand Rugby) can ever really sleep easy on Scott Robertson no matter what the situation,” Wall told Brendan Telfar on The Platform. “Because if he is going to stay in New Zealand that’s just another headline every week that they have to deal with as to why he’s not coaching the All Blacks, and we’re going to get it all through Super Rugby because I think we all know that the Crusaders are going to go through and dominate like they usually do.

“There’s going to be questions about how a guy who has that level of success with a team that contains so many All Blacks in it isn’t getting a look in. So, even though they have kind of put a full stop on the narrative last year by putting their support behind Foster through to the end of the World Cup, and then leaving that door open no matter what happens – which is a strange kind of situation that we have – people are still going to talk about it.”

With six Super Rugby championship titles in six years, there is a sense of inevitability around the Crusaders’ status as tournament favourites. There is also a sense of inevitability, given Robertson’s success with the club, that his name will be brought up with every subpar All Blacks performance.

Wall drew parallels between Robertson’s story and that of his Crusaders predecessors, one of an immensely successful Super Rugby head coach who doesn’t get a shot at the All Blacks’ top job and takes his talents offshore.

“There’s always going to be a job open for him if he (Robertson) puts his hand up.

“The Wallabies might be in a position where they might want to replace Dave Rennie so there’s always going to be that threat there. If Scott Robertson did decide to jump over the ditch, we’re going to have a situation that you and I both remember pretty well, when Robbie Deans did the same thing and took a lot of goodwill that existed in the New Zealand Rugby community with him over there.

“It didn’t end up being quite the fairy tale that Robbie Deans probably wanted but it is kind of feeling like it’s going to play out in a similar sort of situation. So instead of being the full stop on the story that NZ Rugby wanted around Scott Robertson, we’re going to see more of that conversation keep going as long as he’s there.”