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New Zealand's Sport Minister Grant Robertson's brutal burn to Wallabies ahead of All Blacks return

By Online Editors
(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Sport and Finance Minister Grant Robertson has delivered a cutting burn to Australia’s national rugby team by recounting a jibe about the coronavirus pandemic helping the Wallabies achieve an unbeaten season.

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Robertson and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield appeared on Sky Sport’s The Breakdown on Tuesday to discuss issues relating to the return of sport in New Zealand from next month.

The Wallabies were bundled out of last year’s World Cup after losing their one-sided quarter-final to England, and they have not held the Bledisloe Cup since 2002.

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Crusaders Captain Scott Barrett and his teammates doing a gym session as they prepare for return to rugby

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Crusaders captain Scott Barrett re-signs

Crusaders Captain Scott Barrett and his teammates doing a gym session as they prepare for return to rugby

After speaking about the potential to re-open the transtasman border, which would allow the All Blacks and Wallabies to face off this year, Robertson delivered the joke.

“One of the gags going around was that one of the best things about coronavirus was that the Wallabies would have an unbeaten season,” Robertson told hosts Jeff Wilson and Mils Muliaina with a chuckle.

Under former Chiefs coach Dave Rennie, the Wallabies are expected to get the chance to break their 19-year wait to regain the coveted Bledisloe against Ian Foster’s All Blacks in a three or four match series later this year.

Robertson confirmed hopes were high that a bubble would allow travel between New Zealand and Australia in the back half of 2020.

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“There’s a lot of goodwill to do it. Both countries have done really well compared to the rest of the world in terms of how we’ve got on top of the virus. [Prime Minister] Jacinda Ardern and Scott Morrison, the Australian Prime Minister, have been talking.

“Both of them recognise it’s not going to happen right away. We’ve got to be really comfortable we’re on top of the virus and the last thing either of us would want to be responsible for would be reintroducing it to the other country.

“I’ve heard Scott Morrison mention from July onwards wouldn’t it be great in the second half of the year if we were able to get a decent Bledisloe Cup going.

“I know the cricketers have been talking about getting themselves over there as well. That’s what we’re working towards.”

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With the women’s World Cup being held in New Zealand next year, Robertson reiterated the importance of ensuring the female domestic competition is retained this season as fears grow it is under threat as NZ Rugby cuts half its staff and contemplates a 70 per cent drop in revenue.

“One of the things I’ve been thinking about a lot in terms of rugby is the World Cup in 2021,”Robertson said. “We’ve got to win that – for a whole lot of reasons. In order to do that we need a Farah Palmer Cup, frankly, and we need our team to be as competitive as possible through 2020-2021.

“I know New Zealand Rugby had a whole load of plans around that they were working towards. I heard talk of a quasi-Super competition in 2021 to really build up. I hope we can get alongside them and work on that.

“Equally New Zealand Rugby knows they have their own responsibility there.”

Earlier Bloomfield, who came through the Tawa rugby ranks and was vice-captain of the Scots College first XV, likened New Zealand’s coronavirus response to a Rugby World Cup campaign.

“Right at the start one of the analogies I was using with my team is this is like a Rugby World Cup,” Bloomfield said. “You’ve got to see who is the team you’re playing against in that very first pool match and go in with a game plan but then you’ve also got to adapt if things are not going very well.

“In a sense we’ve finished the first pool match and there are others to follow. The next team we will be playing will be a different team so we’ve got to adjust and be prepared to flex.

“The prize at the end you could argue is being in the final in the best shape when hopefully we’ve got good treatment or a vaccine here but we’ve got to keep our focus and keep physically and mentally fit right through the campaign and adjust as time goes by.”

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Trevor 37 minutes ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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