All Blacks great questions Scott Robertson’s ‘unorthodox’ set-up after New Zealand Rugby’s ‘expensive’ Leon MacDonald ‘mistake’
Former All Blacks coach Leon MacDonald and ex-wing Jeff Wilson.
Jeff Wilson reckoned too many cooks spoilt the All Blacks broth after Leon MacDonald’s shock departure last week.
The 46-year-old exited the set-up following a clash with Scott Robertson, with the head coach confirming that the two simply did not ‘click’ in the national team environment.
Despite playing and coaching together at the Crusaders, it did not work out at New Zealand and MacDonald has now left just five matches into the new era.
The sheer size of the All Blacks backroom team has been questioned and Wilson is one of those to query the changes made since Robertson came in.
Different to previous All Blacks regimes
“I am just saying, as a fact that to me, they got themselves in a position when they interviewed for the coaches, there was this team of coaches that they could demonstrate that they could bring with them,” he said on The Breakdown.
“Well, to me, did that mean they had to take all of them?
“We (pundits) all talked about it, we had discussions. We felt there was a lot of people involved here. I want to know, now, who is selecting the outside backs. Because that was Leon MacDonald’s responsibility and we have got about nine of them in the squad.
“Who is now monitoring them? Who is taking their responsibility to when it comes to those discussions? Because it was unorthodox and a changing of the way that they managed and coached the All Blacks.”
Wilson also believes that New Zealand Rugby will pay the price – literally rather than figuratively – for hiring MacDonald.
“The fact that they haven’t been able to work through it, this is a really expensive mistake for NZ Rugby,” he said.
“If you think about how much – I think he was on a four-year deal – they would have had to at least compensate Leon MacDonald for the commitment that he made.
“Also the jobs that he turned down to take this opportunity on board.”
Coaching roles changed
Scott Hansen has been selected to help Jason Holland with the All Blacks attack, while Tamati Ellison has taken on the defence.
A replacement for MacDonald has not been announced and may not be confirmed until 2025 at the earliest, but Wilson believes that reducing the size of the coaching staff could prove to be beneficial for Robertson and New Zealand.
“We all thought they had one too many coaches anyway. Selectors, coaches, huge staff; we were wondering whether the messages were going to be able to be heard when you’ve got so many voices,” he said.
“When Scott Robertson, after two matches in New Zealand. talks about the fact the team is not executing, not playing to the game plan, they’ve come to this conclusion that they needed to reduce it down.
“It is a positive because you can’t go to South Africa and have any distractions. If you want to beat the world champions, your mind has to be 100 per cent focused. I think the players and the coaches can now do that because you can’t have any unrest in the camp.”
READ MORE: Ex-All Black: Why under pressure Rieko Ioane is so ‘valuable’ to Scott Robertson
