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'Over the moon': Robertson reportedly secures future for 2023
By Finn Morton
Star coach Scott Robertson will remain in New Zealand for the 2023 Super Rugby season after reportedly missing out on the England job.
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Leicester Tigers coach Steve Borthwick has been heavily linked with the top job, and is expected to be unveiled by the RFU in the coming days.
According to Newshub, six-time Super Rugby champion Robertson will instead lead the Crusaders again next season.
The New Zealand-based media outlet has revealed that sources at the Crusaders are “over the moon” with the news.
Robertson had reportedly met with the Rugby Football Union in the past, and had seemingly emerged as one of the leading candidates for the job.
Speculation has been rife for many months now, but appeared to intensify after rugby guru Eddie Jones was fired.
The RFU made an ambitious decision earlier this month to axe World Cup specialist Eddie Jones nine months out from next year’s tournament in France.
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Australian-born Jones had cemented his legacy as one of the greatest coaches to have ever graced international rugby during a decorated seven year stint in charge of England.
Jones had won three Six Nations titles, including one Grand Slam, and led the national team to a World Cup final appearance in 2019.
But their form throughout 2022 was simply disastrous, as England struggled to maintain any momentum throughout a tough campaign.
Jones has been heavily linked with a return to the Wallabies, with a Sydney-based journalist “quietly confident” that the super coach will return to Australian shores in some capacity.
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“Whether it’s next year or at some point, I would be betting on that at some point. I think there’s a reasonable chance he would do that,” Aussie scribe Tom Decent told Weekend Sport with Jason Pine.
“He’s been linked with the USA, we know that they are keen for him to come on board… so that’s something that he’s definitely exploring.
“But we all know that Eddie Jones at heart is an Australia, he loves Australian rugby. It would have to be on his terms and there would have to be a lot of things to go right for it to happen.
“But I would be quietly confident that at some point he’ll be back in Australian rugby in some capacity, whether that’s coach, technical director, not quite sure.”
While Borthwick emerged as the front runner to replace Jones after news of his firing broke, but the report could have some intriguing ramifications for New Zealand rugby as well.
Robertson is a fan-favourite in Aotearoa, and many supporters would love to see the champion coach succeed All Blacks boss Ian Foster after next year’s World Cup.
With the 48-year-old set to remain in New Zealand, the possibility of an All Blacks callup seems quite possible.
