Senior All Blacks are enjoying the energy brought by Scott Robertson — the surfing, breakdancing, maverick coach who faces his first Test in charge against England tomorrow.
The man nicknamed “Razor” has inherited a New Zealand side criticized for a lack of innovation under predecessor Ian Foster.
Lock Patrick Tuipulotu said Robertson had energized the squad since they gathered in Wellington last week.
Photo: AFP
“First word that comes to mind is probably ‘energy.’ I think that’s good for this team,” Tuipulotu said. “He knows what he wants and certainly brings that to the forefront, especially in the meeting room.”
“You don’t have many guys falling asleep when he’s up there presenting to us,” he said.
New Zealand open their international season with the first of two Tests against England in Dunedin, the All Blacks’ first outing since narrowly losing the Rugby World Cup final to South Africa in October last year.
Photo: AFP
“It’s inevitable when you change personnel, you have different approaches and different ways of thinking,” center Jordie Barrett said. “You’re seeing guys having to relearn some terms, but it’s exciting, a fresh change and the boys are looking forward to what’s ahead.”
The All Blacks have lost some big names since the World Cup.
Playmaker Richie Mo’unga, one of Robertson’s key lieutenants when he coached the Canterbury Crusaders, is now playing in Japan.
Veteran forward Sam Whitelock, who also played under Robertson at Canterbury, has retired after 153 Tests.
Robertson has named lock Scott Barrett as captain in place of the injured Sam Cane.
Loose forward Ardie Savea and Jordie Barrett are the side’s vice-captains.
With a mop of blond hair, Robertson is a far cry from the taciturn All Blacks coaches of seasons past. It is not unusual to see him skateboarding to the beach with a surfboard tucked under his arm near his South Island home.
He famously celebrated the Crusaders’ run of Super Rugby titles by breakdancing on the pitch.
“We’re going to have some fun, still be professional and set a really high expectation of ourselves, but do it with a smile on our faces,” Robertson said.
As a player Robertson was a loose forward. He won 23 caps for New Zealand between 1998 and 2002 and was dubbed Razor for the way he scythed down opponents in the tackle.
His record as a coach is also sharp — he led the Crusaders to seven straight Super Rugby titles.
Robertson’s critics point to his lack of experience at international level.
He coached the Barbarians to victory against a shadow All Blacks XV in late 2022 and helped New Zealand’s juniors win the World Under-20 title in 2015.
Scott Hansen, one of Robertson’s assistant coaches with the Crusaders and now New Zealand, said he had seen one key change of late.
“In all my time with Razor, I have never seen him wear a watch, but he wears one now,” Hansen said, hinting that Robertson was less laid back about running late. “Have I seen a change in him? He just keeps getting better. There’s a lot of color, a lot of energy.”
Yesterday, Robertson named his first All Blacks team, putting Beauden Barrett on the bench. Damian McKenzie was preferred at fly-half.
Robertson opted for Stephen Perofeta at fullback, T.J. Perenara at halfback and Sevu Reece on one wing.
Waikato Chiefs flanker Samipeni Finau won a contentious battle for the blindside flanker berth. The hard-hitting loose forward joins Ardie Savea and Dalton Papali’i in the back row.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS