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Will Jordan opens up on how All Blacks have changed under Scott Robertson
By Finn Morton
When New Zealand Rugby confirmed in March 2023 that Scott Robertson would succeed Ian Foster as the All Blacks’ head coach, most fans welcomed the news. Supporters had been calling for that appointment, so it was welcomed with open arms by many.
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Success just seems to follow ‘Razor’ everywhere the rugby guru goes. Robertson won NPC titles with Canterbury in 2014 and 2015, tasted World Rugby U20 Championship glory with New Zealand Under-20s, and of course, won seven Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders.
Robertson is a winner and there’s absolutely no doubt about that fact. Fans wanted the experienced coach to make the step up to the All Blacks for years, but the desire for this change grew as the national team began to struggle on the world stage.
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With Foster at the helm, alarm bells started to ring as the All Blacks came off second best against the Springboks, Ireland and France. But, NZR stuck with ‘Fossie’ through to the Rugby World Cup which so nearly ended in a shock triumph.
Now that Foster has left the All Blacks, fans may look back at what he was able to achieve a bit more favourably. Test rugby is tough, and the All Blacks certainly felt the full brunt of that during the last World Cup cycle, but change awaited the team.
Robertson came in and led the All Blacks to back-to-back wins over England in July, followed by a big win over Fiji. But, in The Rugby Championship, the men in black suffered a shock 38-30 loss to Argentina in Wellington before losing both Tests away to the Springboks.
Before the second Test between the All Blacks and Springboks, Will Jordan sat down to talk about a variety of topics. As part of the eight-minute discussion, Jordan opened up on how Foster and Robertson differ as coaches.
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“I guess for me, I’ve spent a lot of time with Razor at Super Rugby so I’m kind of used to the way he likes to do things, the way he structures his week, the game plan,” Jordan told RugbyPass last month. “Obviously, Scott Hansen I’ve spent a lot of time with as well.
“I think for me, I’ve found things pretty similar but you do have to acknowledge for the other guys that it is a bit different.
“A lot of the stuff’s the same. There’s a few key adjustments in there so it’s just about being really connected on the same page. You do make a few tweaks throughout the week so making sure you sit down in the hotel, have those real conversations and make sure we’re aligned.
“We’re excited about the way Razor’s wanting us to play the game and it’s important that we go out there and implement it now. We’ve been together five or six weeks so time to start performing well.”
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Jordan was part of the Crusaders’ dynasty under Robertson. The Crusaders were nigh on impossible to beat during various stages of that seven-year stint, which saw them claim titles before, during and after the Covid pandemic.
Having worked closely with the 50-year-old coach in the past, Jordan has noticed some differences in the way Robertson had approached the international job. But, as the outside back briefly explained, that comes with the territory of the All Blacks’ environment.
“He’s pretty similar,” Jordan said with a chuckle. “It’s obviously a bit of a step up. He’s played Test rugby so he knows what it’s all about. Certainly, there’s been a bit more of an edge to him as you would expect
“But no, Razor himself, he knows how important enjoyment is and people being able to be themselves is important to him.
“Huge around connection, huge around trust each other.
“I think pretty similar to what he’s been doing in the past.”
Watch the highly acclaimed five-part documentary Chasing the Sun 2, chronicling the journey of the Springboks as they strive to successfully defend the Rugby World Cup, free on RugbyPass TV (*unavailable in Africa)
Razor does have a conundrum - Will Jordan scores tries! The majority of his AB career has been wing, but his favoured position is Full Back. Is Will Jordan an exceptional fullback? The answer is probably NO. He's not especially good under the high ball. He's not especially good kicking out of defense. And he's not an especially good tackler or last defender. But he does score tries!
However, I believe Razor is being myopic in his team selections and game plan. This year was the year to try different things. Everyone would accept losses this year if he was really trying different combos
But in reality he's not... I think Ioane is an amazing winger. He's a good defender at center but he creates nothing at center because for 3 years now his passing and distrubution skills have remained poor. But Razor persists and doesn't give Proctor a chance. The problem is compounded for our centers because Jordie is not a good distributor either - so in the end the ball rarely gets to the wing unless DMAC does a cross field kick. Jordie and/or Reiko bashing the ball up is just so damn predictable.
Scooter is a good player, but after 9 games his leadership must be under question. Furthermore in the 7 games he has captained, I believe the leadership burden has affected his game.
Is Scooter a world class 4 - absolutley not. But unlike Rassie who converted PSDT to the blindside role - Razor has not contemplated doing the same with Scooter.
Scott Robertson has an eye for naturally talented players and the man management skills for bringing about the Xfactor potential he knows they have.
Hes the right person, with the right personnel for the job of getting the All Blacks back up to where they belong and I'm a Jaffa who knows hes got what it will take to do that.
Go the All Blacks...onward and upwards...RWC 2027..
For all the eight years international coaching experience he had, & the access to legendary players like Guzzler, Nuggy, & Whitelock, (add in Mounga, Frizell), Foster was a disaster until somewhat saved by Ryan & Schmidt in mid/late 2022. At the similar early stage to Razor, he'd already recorded a loss & a draw v AUS & a loss v ARG. So much for needing international coaching experience, right??!
What's the difference? A bit of this and a bit that. Riveting.
Firstly just wanted to know what year did we change the name of our country from New Zealand to Aotearoa ..2nd as I am from canterbury I sick of listening to North Islanders complaining about Razor ..we had to put up with Foster for 4 years and he was crap even still he had an extra 650 test caps to call on unlike razor has ..maybe here's an idea u guys can have the name Aotearoa and maybe use that name for your rugby team ..the south island can still be called what it was always named New Zealand..pick your own coach and stop whining..u lot were always the ones dragging our country down ..we supply all the electricity..all the clean air so u can breath ..all the intelligence and last but by far not least the best rugby players..ohh and we get to cut the cable and cook Strait so u can float away..some gd news ..in a couple months nearly all the all blacks team will come from crusaders land and oh what a absolutely fantastic rightfully day that will be ..so suck it up 4 years to go
As an outsider (different continent) I appreciate your insight, even if it sounds a "bit" bias.
Still an interesting point of view.....
Wow, some may say you spat the dummy, others will definitely give you a pat on the back.
Either way, that is what it is like, to a more or lesser extent everywhere. In every country, in every region.
Only real ragga passion, or/and extra malt will drive a fanatic supporter to share their Real Feelings. Right or wrong.
Boks Rule. AB's are LEGENDS.
This will never change.
When all were writing of the AB's before the Championship, most supporters in SA were concerned about the outcome of the result.
And rightly so.
As bad as the Boks were in the past, I certainly don't think the AB's will ever reach that low. Believe me, it Pains me to type this.
As for the rest, a sincere thanks for coming along....just kidding.
Raggas is definitely in a strong place in general when the fight for 3rd,4th & 5th place is just so unpredictable.
And yes, I'm taking a purely subjective view on the world rankings. And yes, completely ignoring the "official" world rankings. I'm just aligning my reasoning along the expressions of some x international players, and people who have clarity of thought.
Raggas Rules.
Most intelligent
.you rejected Cotter wjo won he comp in his first yr with the Nth Is Blues and you intellige try chose Penney to coach rhe Crusaders who came??? A good rant though 👌
Our best player comes from Wellington and plays for the Canes.
Haha the first name for the place you live was waters of Greenstone,
I think that's better than "South Island" don't you?
Stop being a blimmin clown bro. Embarrassing.
You are the issue. Welcome to the 21st century.
I have nothing but respect for the people of Te Wai Pounamu, and the Crusaders general have been at the forefront of rugby in Aotearoa for the last seven years.
This isn’t about Otautahi being better than Tamaki Makaurau (obviously not as the Blues are champions at the moment), but coaching content, pure and simple.
Other than ridiculously biased selections like Bell, Razor has been pretty good.
Let's be honest they should have given the job to Joseph and Brown yonks ago.
I'd prefer Vern Cotter
Lol and what's Joesph done
The ironic thing with this interview is Will Jordan only ended up , in his best position , fullback , because Beaudy was sick. Will was brilliant and then in the second test against the Wallabies , scored a try 2 minutes in to the game, that was Christian Cullenish. Beauden should never play fullback again, remain at best a bench option.
It's not as if it's the only time he got to play there. Problem is he has a Shaun Stevensonish style defence at times. Makes Beaudy look like a brick wall.
So we wanted to know what Razor is like as a test coach and they asked a guy who has played under him for years? Pity they couldnt have asked a player who had never played under Razor.
It's good to see an actual effort put into making a good interview into an actual article Finn. The editor just bangs them out for publication together like this? Would be better staggered imo
If you know better then take the job. If you can…