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Scott Robertson's view of the Springboks and whether the All Blacks have to emulate them
By Ben Smith
New All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has offered his view on whether the All Blacks have to change and become like the Springboks in order to win World Cups again.
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South Africa claimed a fourth men’s Rugby World Cup title after defeating the All Blacks 12-11 in the final last year after goal kicking misses left points on the pitch in a tight affair.
Former All Black Sir John Kirwan said that the Springboks had completely “changed the way they play” just to win World Cups.
While Robertson stopped short of saying the All Blacks had to change everything and follow South Africa’s approach, the new All Blacks head coach said he wants the team to evolve in order to win in multiple ways.
“Test football is a game of strength, the World Cup is a game of finals and strengths,” Robertson told Sky Sport NZ’s The Breakdown.
“That’s what they [Springboks] play too. They are a great defensive side, great kicking side, great set-piece side, and they kick the goals to win.
“The majority of major events with ‘kicking’ involved, finish with a kick to win it. Soccer, [American] football, rugby, league, the critical ones are won from the foot.
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“And they won it off the foot. They made the kicks. Incredibly tight margins at that level, they went back to what they were good at, and that’s the shape of the game.
“The big part for me this year is to win and evolve, so we can win in two to three different ways. That’s the key to bringing success over a four-year period.”
The champion Crusaders coach listed winning in wet conditions, winning away from home in different environments as key milestones to tick off, while embedding the “game management” understanding within the team.
Robertson wants different defensive structures for the different opponents the All Blacks will face, which will likely take time to master.
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The new head coach was optimistic about the squad he has inherited after having the chance to work with the players in January in camp.
“We’ve got a great balance of players that are in their late 20s that have been there and done it,” Robertson explained.
“We know that every World Cup cycle you are going to lose, guys are going to move on, that’s part of it.
“We’ve got a great group that are still hungry. Haven’t quite got there but know and experienced it, care deeply about the All Blacks.
“There is a young group coming through that are ready to take that opportunity as well.”
…I must say, you AB’s have developed a mean chip on the shoulder . Yikes !!
What’s an AB's”?
ABs defense is top notch. When was the last time the Boks scored more tries than NZ in a game of rugby where 15 men played against 15?
rugby’s biggest issue is the officiating and the appalling nonsense around Red Cards.
Great idea, yes it is ideal to get sent off, yes that makes sense, top notch, perfect defense
umm maybe not, good coaching and skill set - nah
Another great idea, team with most tries wins
umm maybe not
Another great idea 15 blah blah. I will say this slow, get a pen write it down. IT……..IS…….A…….GAME……OF…..23 players you gobbler
Biggest Issue are dumb fanboys, Keep it real.
The officials are great. It is the players that bend the rules, ie. do not tackle a player with your shoulder to his head, simple rule eh
Rugby needs to be safer. Red cards are fine, the players know the rules before they enter over the white lines on the field.
No wait I wanna hear it —-what is your solution to red cards - does not augur well as you already have a few dumb ideas above.
Does Ben Smith not blow smoke up yer asses enough ? Its all cool until someone points out your BS. When decisions and results go against the Boks its suddenly video bloopers, ref’s are cheats, players are cheats, the armbands are out and the stadium screen is showing slo mo’s. It doesnt happen from any other Nation of fans. Now non-conformist journo’s are just ‘click baiters’ for not bowing at the altar. One Captain is “dirty” but the other is “Greatest Ever” despite identical incidents in the same match with subjective interpretations. 1 ref says no, another says yes. Neither of which were, in fact, “dirty” just technical interpretations that are ruining the game. Both Captains are clean players but Bok fans kneejerk reaction is always the smear to justify the means. It was ever thus. #JUSTICE4
Hmm yeah, you’re not really making sense anymore. Happy to debate rugby with you but you’re just rambling now. Take care and don’t let the Boks bother you so much. It’s not healthy. Celebrate your own team and enjoy the great rivalry between the Boks and the ABs. You don’t need to have a go at other teams like this. Unless I was right all along and this is Ben Smith trying to get people to click on his story. If so, troll away.
things getting a little too cosy here in your LOTTO echo chamber ? It’s a countdown until the Boks start losing again and all the same old same old excuses will be rolled out to justify the Emperor and his new clothes. Just watch (not gold).
Four more years dude. You might want to pace your outrage.
your own comments are littered with whinges. Forgot about the McCaw obsession briefly, it tends to get lost in the ether of all the others. Karma will catch the rugby chameleons and the bleating will ramp up again. Its inevitable. ‘This chatroom’, how sweet, now they own the internet.
Calling Bok supporters whingers when you came to this chatroom specifically to whinge lacks such self awareness I can only assume you are wearing a tinfoil hat. 🤣 No whinging here, mate, just a celebration party that’ll go for eight years. And probably 12. Enjoy polishing that silver medal.
I’m not sure fiddling with different defensive structures for different opponents is the right noise coming from Razor. I think nailing one is the way to go. There were a few criticisms levelled against the ABs defensive systems that had not evolved very much “since Smiths days”.
The ABs have always been a team to win by scoring tries. And plenty of them. Home or away, wet or dry. In sickness and in health. That’s their DNA and that needs to be the focus.
The article is wrong. Razor didn’t say he wanted specific defensive structures for specific opponents. He was talking about being able to defend an onfield opposition in more than one way. Being able to change tactics in real time.
All Blacks should just stick with what they do best. They have the players and right mentality and its a young squad. They will be right up there in 4 years and they have a good proactive coach now
The way Razor is being hyped up will leave some fans disappointed this year. So much pressure before he has even started, keep in mind Super Rugby is not the same as international rugby
Don’t worry yourself mate. We’ll be fine.
Nobody seems to have noticed that he is the least experienced international coach at tier one level. Managing the same group of players week in and week out is a far cry from managing a group of players so many weeks of the year. It’s going to take time for him to adjust.
The Boks outstanding win in the RWC was against France. I think only the Boks could have beaten England and NZ after that, so won it the hard way.
That said the ridiculous draw and scheduling made the winner out of the Top4 more of a lottery than it should have been (eg England could have and arguably should have beaten the Boks, which is ridiculous). If England beat the Boks, NZ win. If Ireland aren’t scheduled to play Scotland 7 days before NZ, do Ireland win the QTR?
Too much of a lottery with the bad draw and scheduling.
As an Irish supporter I accept a better team (on the night) eliminated us in the QTR. Can we all pressure the powers that be to have a balanced draw AND schedule from now on?
Diplomatic from the AB coach. He knows the Boks prefer to play without the ball and are a limited team outside the pack. Boks were winners of the LOTTO Cup, they’ll be handed their lollies by Ireland and ABs again. Couldnt score 1 try against 14 men, didnt even come close. Ireland spanked them, again, and Boks only scored from an obvious forward pass.
BLAH BLAH BLAH, want some cheese with that whine?
Clearly you know nothing about this sport. You keep believing that the boks have won 4/8 world cups by luck. I'm sorry your team is crap and can't win anything but crying on the internet like this says more about you than us and out team your little b1tch.
Red and white dynamight. Let me guess, England? You guys suck so much, Bill Beaumont tried his best to get England in the final with his lotto WC and you could still not win haha what a joke. Imagine cheating the system with power and money and then still losing, now that is embarrassing!
Is Ben Smith writing stories and then commenting on them as well? Just too many wrong, idiotic, trolling statements in the above to be a serious rugby fan. Written to get clicks.
If they were so great, then why did France make them look like a bunch of school boys?
Maybe take the blinkers off mate, AB’s are the “limited” team. if in doubt read the article again, better yet read Ben Smith’s articles where he whines & whinges constantly that they haven’t found a solution to the rush defense since 2006 and that their attacks are dying before they get started because they are predictable.
oh please please give us another quote from Jeffrey Wilson, “boks gonna fake an injury to one of their 4 half-backs, send him home and bring Pollard in” haha. Nobody picks 4 half-backs
Bula
So he's more or less saying if the Abs had world class goal kickers they would hold the world cup? The Boks only lost to Ireland because their sharpshooters had a ridiculously bad day with the boot,they had the best goal kicking in the tournament which in the end was the difference that won it for them.
If you kicked all your kicks you still would have lost to Ireland because you scored a try off a rebound when Faf De Klerk hit the woodwork. Ireland also missed a couple of kickable penalties and turned a few to kick for the corner. Best team on the day won. You won the world cup. Show some humility?
Ireland schooled SA at RWC. Boks only try came from an outrageous forward pass. Ireland were a class above.
If you don’t have to change everything and follow South Africa’s approach, then why would there be a need to “evolve in order to win in multiple ways”???
Just more gaslighting than hot air.
Is that like saying, hey lads clearly our way does not work, we need to knock it all down and start again. Or maybe just poach two Fijians, two Samoans and a tongan (no6). Cause playing sevens style against the skillful organised top teams in the world does not work anymore, ref is catching us out to often.
Hundreds of tackles, line breaks, turnovers, scrums etc were executed before …
Idiot they were won with the mind, heart and disciplined skillset.
wena impundu
Everyone thought Rassie was nuttier than a jar of peanut butter before he proved everyone wrong to you ass. He seen what everyone seen when the ABs had those two penalties late in that final and chose to kick to touch instead of taking the points. He’s obviously going to fix that just like Rassie has asked Brownie to fix your clunky attack that couldn’t get over a 14 man ABs try line that whole final. Nothing wrong with that is there? Razors never really made much sense when he speaks unfortunately lol but he gets the best out of his players and he knows how to win games.
Impundu igcwele indle