Scott Robertson ‘totally different’ in All Blacks role as shocking details emerge leading to his sacking
Scott Robertson as All Blacks and Crusaders head coach.
Scott Robertson was “totally different” as All Blacks head coach to what he was in Super Rugby, according to a comprehensive report into his sacking.
Communication with players and coaches, as well as the rivalry between the Crusaders and Blues, played a key role in his downfall.
That is according to the New Zealand Herald who have also suggested that Ardie Savea’s alleged dissatisfaction was not a key reason why New Zealand Rugby decided to pull the trigger.
Perhaps central to Robertson’s exit was the apparent change in the 51-year-old’s change in personality after taking the All Blacks job.
Man-management issues
He was incredibly well-liked at the Crusaders and was seen as a players’ coach, but his man-management skills were questioned once in the national team role.
It appears as though the pressure got to Robertson as soon as he became All Blacks boss, a position he had coveted for some time.
“It was difficult from the start,” one insider told the Herald. “You had Crusaders players saying, ‘We don’t recognise this guy. He’s totally different to the Scott Robertson that we worked with in the Crusaders’.
“They said that in the Crusaders he was upbeat, he was fun, he was energetic.”
The source added that he was “just on edge” and “always tense”, stating that “fun stuff was gone” and making it “difficult right from the start for everyone.
“The only thing I can think of as being the reason for that is the pressure.”
His coaching credentials were also doubted with very little on display during his time in charge. Instead, he would look to motivational videos in an attempt to boost team morale.
“He’d play the clip, and at the end of the clip, he’d go, ‘Everyone good? Cool, let’s go.’ You were not getting any inspirational speeches, you were not seeing any rugby IQ, any innovation,” another source told the outlet.
“I just think the poor guy was under so much pressure.”
Handing over responsibility
The report also seems to confirm earlier suspicions that Robertson handed responsibility over to his backroom team, telling the players to discuss selection with the likes of Jason Ryan and Scott Hansen.
That was also the case when Leon MacDonald was on board, with a Herald source claiming that the coach was expected to tell the players why they had been dropped, despite Robertson making the call.
Although the head coach did have an “initial chat” with a player, the assistant would then discuss the “specifics”, leading to some “gnarly conversations.
“It’s just so different to the approach they were used to with Foz [Ian Foster] and those who dealt with Steve Hansen,” one source said.
“Foz, on a Monday night, would sit players down to explain to them why they’re not being selected. And a lot of times, he’d actually cry.
“With Razor, he wasn’t doing any of that Monday night stuff. You’d rock up to the bus to go to training on Tuesday. He’d tap you on the shoulder and just go ‘Oh, I just want to let you know you’re not playing this week, cool’ and walk off. So you go into a training session trying to process that.”
Crusaders-Blues rivalry
There was possibly also politics at play, particularly when it came to the rivalry between the Crusaders and Blues.
Before Robertson took the All Blacks job, there were worries that there would be Crusaders bias. Although it did not seem to be prevalent during his tenure, it did not stop those from Auckland being disappointed by some of the selections.
According to the Herald the Blues hierarchy were “dismayed” when Super Rugby MVP Hoskins Sotutu did not get called up, even though it proved to be the correct decision with Wallace Sititi – the player who was picked instead – winning the World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year.
The 51-year-old perhaps did not help himself, though, with the report claiming he left one Blues player in “tears” after telling him he was in the “top tier of players”, only to drop him from the squad weeks later with “no explanation”.
There is another side to the story, however, with the report suggesting he received “over, unprompted and sometimes questioning” comments from those at the Auckland-based side because of what the players were saying.
One source reckoned it played a big part in the review, telling the Herald it “wasn’t just listened to, it was reinforced and encouraged, then pushed upwards … into NZR”.
“That shaped the feedback environment around the review in a big way.”
Ardie Savea saga
One thing which has been discussed plenty since Robertson’s departure is the role of Savea in his exit, but it is reportedly a “misconception” that he was “responsible” for Robertson’s sacking.
The relationship was possibly a fraught one, though, despite all being relatively well during their face-to-face conversations.
Even after NZ Rugby took the decision to axe the head coach, a source told the newspaper that Savea “was always of the opinion they could find a way”, adding: “If they had said to [Ardie], ‘Razor’s going to continue’, absolutely fine. He would have continued trying his best to make it work for everyone.”
It is understood that Robertson felt that he and Savea had a good relationship, with the back-rower making an extra effort to connect with the All Blacks boss.
“Any time Razor did something that was really cool or something that the players liked, Ardie would go over to him and say, ‘Hey, Ray, I just want to let you know that was awesome’. Encouraging him,” one source said.
But at the same time, the Herald claims that Savea was having conversations with “several senior leaders”, including Robertson, “about his All Blacks future”.
“Ardie had come to Scott at different points, saying he wasn’t really enjoying things, was feeling exhausted,” one source said.
“Scott’s response was basically, if that’s how you feel, I won’t put you on the end-of-tour … so you can rest and recharge, but you need to tell me properly so we can deal with it. Each time, Ardie said he would be fine.”
As a result, it is understood that Robertson reckoned Savea was “sending different messages in those conversations”, with the source suggesting the back-rower was telling NZR chair David Kirk that he “wanted out of his contract”.
That was when, according to the Herald source, “it started to feel like things were being chipped away at behind the scenes”, with the newspaper reporting that Robertson started to “feel like a scapegoat.”
READ MORE: All Blacks stars accuse critics of making Ardie Savea a ‘scapegoat’ over Scott Robertson backlash
