Scott Robertson: Rookie ‘picked himself’ as Hoskins Sotutu’s All Blacks snub explained
Scott Robertson explains his thinking in the back row and Scott Barrett's captaincy.
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has explained his thinking in his loose forward selections with Wallace Sititi favoured over Hoskins Sotutu – while he has also addressed Scott Barrett’s disciplinary concerns.
Robertson’s first squad of the year has caused quite the stir, with the ex-Crusaders boss naming five uncapped players ahead of the two-Test series against England.
The 49-year-old has backed many of his former players from the Canterbury club despite their poor Super Rugby Pacific season while also making a few surprise calls, including that of prop Pasilio Tosi.
Hoskins Sotutu’s snub
However, arguably the most contentious decision from Robertson was to overlook in-form Blues number eight Sotutu after his sensational season, scoring a record-equalling 12 tries in the competition – the joint most by a forward in a single campaign.
Instead, Robertson selected Chiefs’ breakout star Sititi – the son of former Samoan international forward Semo Sititi, who played for his country over 40 times.
The All Blacks boss has explained that all of the loose forwards that have been selected are strong on both sides of the ball – defence and attack – and while stating that Sotutu is a ‘hell of a player’, he hinted that he just hadn’t worked enough on his game after conversations earlier this year.
“Yes, he is a hell of a player,” Robertson said when asked by SENZ Radio if the Blues star was unlucky not to make the team.
“But the big focus for me and the team especially in the loose forwards – at Test level – is to be great on both sides of the ball.
“I had a conversation with him during the year and asked to see a few things (from him), and we had good conversations, and in the end, we went with somebody else.”
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Wallace Sititi picked himself
That somebody else was the Chiefs’ powerhouse Sititi, who Robertson explained was just too good to ignore and forced the coaching staff’s hands, essentially picking himself.
The head coach marvelled at the performances of the 21-year-old in the Super Rugby Pacific play-offs, even in the final, where he made 20 tackles and carries – both team highs for the Chiefs.
“Well, he sort of picked himself, didn’t he with those performances,” Robertson added.
“He just rose up to the challenge of the knockouts, the quarter-final we [the coaching staff] just thought ‘wow’ and then the semi too.
“Then he was on the other side of the scoreboard in a final but led the counts on both sides of the ball.
“Off slow ball, he was beating players with good feet, we got confirmation in the final, but the good thing about him is that he can play all three back-row positions, and he’s exceptionally quick in the line out as well, and it would just his character of how resilient he is.
“He can just get back up and work back behind the ball when the ball was high and volunteer to make a couple of tough carries into absolutely a dead-set wall, and we were like ‘Okay, that’s a test footy player’.”
Scott Barrett’s captaincy call
Another touchy subject for fans was the captaincy decision, with Barrett getting the nod over Ardie Savea for the role, a decision that left ex-All Black Lima Sopoaga puzzled.
Robertson admitted that his history with Barrett certainly played a role in his decision to make him the captain but added that he was not the only option.
There has also been concerns around Barrett’s discipline after recent yellow and red cards in the black jersey which Robertson addressed.
“Looks he is aware of it [his discipline] whether he is captain or not,” he explained.
“He has dealt with a lot of his stuff, he is a tight forward that will live on the edge with the physicality and brutality of international rugby.
“And if you are slightly wrong, you are wrong, and he has matured and understands that and owns it, he has done a bit of work with it – particularly on the mental side.
“You just got to trust someone don’t you. The other side is, Scott is a winner, we have had so much success over a long period of time and he has got the team over the line before and because our relationship is really critical and important to us.
“Everything considered, there were conversations with other players, and I just believe that for this group, he is going to drive what we need on and off the field with a great group of players around him.”
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