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Scott Robertson expecting feisty Bledisloe with Schmidt at helm for Wallabies
The Wallabies are in good hands with new coach Joe Schmidt, All Blacks mentor Scott Robertson says, and he’s expecting Australia to bounce back for the annual Bledisloe Cup battle.
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Both nations have replaced their coach since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with Robertson taking over from Ian Foster despite New Zealand falling by just one point in the final against South Africa.
The Wallabies had a horror show in France; failing for the first time to make it out of their pool, with Eddie Jones paying the price for their early exit.
Jones made some wild selection choices while the inexperienced cohort appeared clueless on the field.
New Zealander Schmidt, who was part of the All Blacks coaching set-up in France, was last week announced as Jones’s replacement.
Robertson said the veteran coach is the right man at the right time for the Wallabies.
“He’s got a great CV – he’s a good pair of hands and is experienced so it’s good timing for Australia and him,” Robertson told Stan Sport on Tuesday while attending the Australian Open.
“There’s no outs. You’ll know where you need to be on the field and know what the expectations are of you.
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“He’s a great rugby mind. He’ll be clear.”
Dates and venues for the two-Test 2024 Bledisloe Cup series – one in Australia and one in New Zealand – are yet to be announced, with the Wallabies looking to break a drought lasting more than 20 years.
Despite the gulf in World Cup performances, former Crusaders title-winning coach Robertson expects Australia to be competitive.
The Wallabies have lost two of their past four Bledisloe Tests by three points or fewer, suffering heartbreak in Melbourne in 2022 after a controversial late call by referee Mathieu Raynal.
“It’s been a long time since you held it up, but there’s periods in games – a famous moment back here, our French friend … it can swing quite quickly,” Robertson said.
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“It comes down to the passion on both sides, it’s really clear every time you see it played.
“The importance on the night, it’s really critical, doesn’t matter what form.”
Hooker Dave Porecki, the last Wallabies captain under Jones, has re-committed to Australian rugby until at least the end of 2026.
Already contracted until the end of this year, the 31-year-old will hope to add to his 19 Test caps over two-year extension.
Porecki led the Wallabies in three of their four pool games at the World Cup, replacing injured skipper Will Skelton.
Comments on RugbyPass
“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to comments