Scott Robertson inspires most belief in All Blacks in ‘a long time’

Scott Robertson’s All Blacks have won three out of three games into the opening month of Tests in the 2024 international season, a good enough result, but perhaps not as convincing as many fans had hoped.

One expert who had nothing but praise for the Steinlager Ultra Low Carb Series was former All Blacks coach Laurie Mains.

Mains was confident that Robertson would continue to grow the team, having shown some key, promising qualities in the victories over England and Fiji, and said he believed in Robertson’s vision for the team.

“Yes, I believe in Robertson for two reasons. What he’s achieved with the Crusaders; I don’t care how good the players were or where they got their players from. It doesn’t matter. To win that championship seven times in a row is sensational. That tells me he’s going to get this All Blacks team to perform at their best,” Mains told Newstalk ZB’s Jason Pine after the win in San Diego.

“What I saw was that they had to fight really hard to win both Tests against England. And that showed me that those players were fully committed to the team and that’s the first achievement for a coach, to get his players fully committed to the team and the game plan.

“Every time they play, you see more of what they are trying to achieve.

“That first Test against England I think was one of the toughest Test matches to play. England were good. Defensively they were very aggressive and very strong. Then in that second Test, when Beauden (Barrett) came on, it started to open up and he created chances.

“We saw more of that shorter game against Fiji. There were some beautifully constructed tries in that game.

“So I’m incredibly optimistic about where this team is going. The best I’ve felt in a long time.”

Robertson has stressed that adaptability and the ability to win games in different ways has been important since taking charge of the All Blacks. It’s fair to say the team beat two very different teams in very different ways in July.

While the first phase of a new leadership group always comes with its own challenges and achievements, Mains says Robertson needs to get started straight away. He notes that the next Rugby World Cup is still three years away, but there is no better time to lay the foundations for the next round.

“I think the first two years of a World Cup cycle are the period where a coach and a selection committee really need to get a foundation and the basis of the team. It’s based on maybe the 10 best players, who are all automatic choices.

“You know from them what style of rugby you can play best. And then you have to bring in players who complement the strength of that 10.”