Scott Robertson: ‘You have always got to be careful around Eddie Jones’
Scott Robertson is wary of the threat Eddie Jones poses to the All Blacks' unbeaten record against Japan.
Scott Robertson says he is “aware” of the threat that Eddie Jones poses as the All Blacks put their unblemished record against Japan on the line.
The All Blacks and Brave Blossoms meet for the eighth time in their history on Saturday before Robertson and his squad head to the United Kingdom, where they will tackle England.
Following a disastrous Rugby World Cup campaign with Australia, Jones resigned from his position as Wallabies head coach and has returned to his former role in charge of Japan.
This came after he was sacked by the RFU ahead of the World Cup after an underwhelming 2022 with England.
Eddie Jones, the giant slayer
However, Jones has a knack of preparing his sides superbly for games against the biggest teams in world rugby having famously defeated the Springboks with Japan during the 2015 World Cup and four years later plotted the All Blacks’ demise with England, claiming a stunning semi-final victory.
Japan have never beaten New Zealand and Robertson is wary of the potential banana peel that Jones’ Brave Blossoms pose after naming a largely changed team for the clash at Yokohama’s Nissan Stadium.
“You have always got to be careful around Eddie Jones firstly,” Robertson said after being asked about Jones’ historic record against All Blacks teams.
“There have been a few big names other than the All Blacks, he’s got great innovation, he pushes his teams to the limit and gets the best out of people.
“He’s done that at some key moments in his career so we’re aware of Eddie.”
Many of the current All Blacks players have spent time in Japan enjoying playing sabbaticals in the Japan Rugby League One competition and Robertson said that the squad tapped into that knowledge ahead of the Test match.
“Damian McKenzie and TJ Perenara – they are just a couple of examples – have come in and they just talked about how brave the Japanese players are,” he revealed.
“They explained that if you give them opportunities, they can take you and they will punish you, so we have respected them in our preparation.”
Jones has been blooding in a new era of Japanese rugby since reprising the role he held between 2011 and 2015 with many players earning their Test debuts during the Pacific Nations Cup.
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Robertson picks out Japan’s ‘exceptional talent’
One of the players that caught Robertson’s eye in the All Blacks’ preview of Japan is playmaker Seungsin Lee, who has played at fly-half and full-back under Jones.
“With our preview of them, we have been very impressed with a lot of young players that have come through and taken the opportunity especially [Seungsin] Lee the full-back, he is an exceptional talent so it’s exciting,” Robertson said.
“I know the Japanese people will be looking forward to him play, we pay them the respect and there are a couple of young great players coming through.”
