Justin Marshall ‘surprised’ by conservative Scott Robertson as any All Blacks team can ‘cope’ with Wallabies
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson and ex-scrum-half Justin Marshall.
Former All Black Justin Marshall has continued to bang the selection drum, insisting that Scott Robertson’s lack of experimentation could prove costly.
The former Crusaders boss took over following the 2023 Rugby World Cup and has looked at a few different combinations so far.
However, two of the positions appear to be non-negotiable for Robertson, which is coincidently where much of the chat has centred on.
At number eight, Ardie Savea has started every match so far and the same goes for Damian McKenzie at fly-half.
Marshall’s changes
Marshall would like to see Savea shift to openside to allow youngster Wallace Sititi to play in his best position at number eight, while behind the scrum he believes Beauden Barrett should be given a chance to play at 10.
“The debate this week would probably be around whether or not Scott Robertson wanted to see whether we were able to change the picture, in terms of our attack and our shape,” he told The Platform.
“Should Ardie Savea get injured, have we actually really thought through him potentially being out of the back-row and giving somebody else enough time in the number eight jersey?
“Equally, if Damian McKenzie was to fall over, we haven’t really used anybody else. You say that Beauden Barrett can slot in there as first receiver if needed because he’s played full-back and then the dual pivot role, but starting is different.
“Controlling the game from the first minute is a different situation but it looks at this stage like Scott Robertson is not prepared to gamble and I’m a little surprised.
“We have lost three Test matches this year already and that goes to show that the players who are out there are under pressure, but he is still sticking with what he believes he can get the best out of.”
All Blacks dominance over Australia
Marshall believes that this is very much the time Robertson should be experimenting, especially with a tough end-of-year tour coming up.
While retaining the Bledisloe Cup is vital for the All Blacks, the former playmaker insists that it will be achieved by whoever takes to the field.
“Our Super Rugby franchises have well and truly had the wood on our Australian counterparts, so it’s the same personnel, it’s the same players that are out there doing it in Super Rugby. All they’re doing is putting on a different jersey and it’s at a slightly different tempo, and there’s more at stake,” he said.
“Given the history and given the statistics, and what’s been happening in recent years, you would say regardless of the team Scott Robertson picked, we should beat this Australian side in both Test matches.
“Because we have got the personnel and the depth to cope with Australia, these are probably two Test matches where we should start to look at whether or not we can change the picture, and have a look at a couple of other players in different positions for those big three Test matches we’re going to have when we play England, Ireland and France.
“At this stage, it is obviously not in their thinking.”
READ MORE: All Blacks team: Scott Robertson gets timely double boost as Beauden Barrett starts for Bledisloe I
