Scott Robertson MARTY MELVILLE / AFP
The New Zealand Football Federation announced on Tuesday that it had chosen Scott Robertson as All Blacks coach from 2024, concluding a chaotic selection process that threatened the team’s preparations ahead of the World Cup.
Robertson, aka “Razor» («Shaver“), is currently the coach of the New Zealand team Crusaders. He will replace Ian Foster, whowill lead the All Blacks until the end of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France“said New Zealand Rugby. Robertson, 48, was chosen over Jamie Joseph, the current Japan coach. His contract will last until the end of the 2027 World Cup in Australia. New Zealand Rugby has hailed Robertson’s unparalleled success at national level, and his reputation as an innovative coach.
“His coaching record speaks for itself in terms of success, but what stood out during the interview process was his innovative approach to the game, his passion for his players and his desire to contribute to the legacy of the All Blackssaid Federation chief executive Mark Robinson. Former third-line wing of the All Blacks, Robertson, 23 selections in test matches for New Zealand between 1998 and 2002, has been coaching the Crusaders since 2017, which he has led to six successive Super Rugby titles. But he never coached a national team.
He celebrates his titles with breakdance steps
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Ian Foster, who announced in early March that he would not be seeking a new contract, had been under pressure since last year due to the All Blacks’ erratic performances, including a losing streak against Ireland and their first home defeat against Argentina. New Zealand Rugby had taken the unusual step of starting the recruitment process well before Foster’s contract expired, ostensibly to prevent rival international teams from poaching Robertson.
High in colour, Scott Robertson celebrates his titles with breakdance steps and surfing helps him decompress, but above all he will have to honor his nickname of “Shaver» and restore their edge to the All Blacks At 48, his coaching record is rather bloody.
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He began by leading Sumner, a club close to his home in Christchurch, to regional crowning in the Canterbury league. The almost fifty-year-old said recently that he enjoyed this experience at the amateur level, where he cut his teeth by helping his team, made up of traders or masons, to have fun on the ground.
Robertson further honed his skills at provincial level as an assistant coach at his former club Canterbury, where he eventually took charge. It was before the big jump. In June 2016, he became the leader of the Crusaders, the first team aligned in Super Rugby.
Six consecutive Super Rugby titles since his first season in 2017
The sequel is glorious: six consecutive championship titles since his first season in 2017, which the “Shaverhas all left its mark. After each final victory, Robertson kicked off the festivities with…breakdance steps.
It’s not uncommon to see her blonde mane floating above the waves. The former pro rugby player is also a lover of sliding and often goes to the ocean on a skateboard, his surfboard under his arm. “I’m lucky to be able to surf before going to work“, he savored recently.
Many in the country believe that his time has come, he who was doubled by Ian Foster in 2019. Others consider that his national successes are not worth international experience. He led the Barbarians – an invitational XV – to success against a diminished All Blacks last December and led New Zealand’s U-20 world champions in 2015.
But the “Shaver“has never honed his coaching skills at the head of a senior selection. Scott Robertson, however, receives the support of former players such as Matt Todd, also formerly an All Black. “Of course international rugby is different, but with his work ethic, his desire to progress and his innovative vision, it would be great to see him at the All Blacks“, said by telephone Todd, reached in Japan by AFP.
According to him, theShaver» has a very particular style. “It brings positive energy. He is always ready and enthusiastic in training. It’s contagious and it spreads within the team. He understands his players, takes the time to get to know them well, he knows what drives each person“.