Can Scott Robertson Bring The Crusaders' Rugby Magic To The All Blacks?
Can Scott Robertson Bring The Crusaders' Rugby Magic To The All Blacks?
New Zealand All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson enters his second full season with the squad and hopes to bring his previous experience into play.
With the 2025 Rugby Championship set to kick off Aug. 16, the New Zealand All Blacks are hungry to take back a title they have won 20 times over.
However, the No. 1-ranked South Africa Springboks look primed to have a repeat victory after securing the trophy last year.
If there's anybody the All Blacks must conquer to have a shot at the championship, it would be the Springboks.
To take care of business, New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson must tap into his past success with the Crusaders club team that dominated Super Rugby.
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Before Robertson took over as the All Blacks head coach in November 2023, he led the Crusaders on a historic run from 2017-2023.
In his first season, the squad captured the Super Rugby title to make Robertson only the second first-year head coach to win a championship.
Robertson brought the Crusaders to another Super Rugby championship victory in 2018 and 2019, becoming the first "rookie" head coach to win three successive titles in his first three seasons.
In 2020 and 2021, the Crusaders gained two Super Rugby Aotearoa championship wins before he guided them to a Super Rugby championship in 2022 and another in 2023 for his seventh consecutive title.
His expertise has not been lost since joining the All Blacks, as the team boasts a 13-4 record during his tenure.
Whatever magic Robertson wielded with the Crusaders will need to be used with New Zealand in The Rugby Championship, if the squad hopes to take down the reigning champions in South Africa.
But FloRugby expert Philip Bendon believes the sweep of the Springboks is unlikely.
"I expect the All Blacks to certainly be better this season, but I don't think they'll do enough to dethrone South Africa," Bendon said. "I really, really rate Scott Robertson as a coach, and the talent the All Blacks have within their playing ranks. They're still firmly the second-best team in this competition."
Bendon mentioned that despite Robertson's achievements with the Crusaders, it does not compare to the level of competition faced in The Rugby Championship.
"What Razor (Robertson) did with the Crusaders was absolutely spectacular, but the reality is that Super Rugby is just nowhere near as competitive as international rugby, and the difference between coaching a club side and a test side has never been bigger," Bendon said.
New Zealand will take the field for its first match of the 2025 Rugby Championship against Argentina on Aug. 16.
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