Bevan Sisson: Will pressure change Razor’s approach?

During my time coaching at the Crusaders international high performance unit based out of Rugby Park, I would come across Scott Robertson at different times and couldn’t help but notice he had a singular drive and predetermined plan to get himself to the top.

That day finally arrived at Dunedin over the weekend.

Since taking over, he has been busy finalising his coaching and management group, getting his playing roster sorted, choosing a captain and looking at how he wants his team to play. 

But none of that is the same as finally walking onto the field and soaking up the crowd before his first official game.

• Finlay Christie only change to All Blacks starting lineup

Robertson ensured he would have the best opportunity to start with a win when he chose an experienced line-up against an England team picked with the future in mind.

Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli also had a hand, with captain Scott Barrett even mentioning he thought they got the 50/50 calls.

That’s an understatement at best and Robertson would have breathed a sigh of relief when the final penalty was blown for a turnover by Tupou Vaa’i that should have gone England’s way. 

When the final whistle blew, the win ensured Robertson’s honeymoon period is extended, and the media love affair will continue for a few more weeks.

What will be of interest down the track is how his ongoing relationship with the mainstream media continues.

If he is consistently successful, they will continue to treat him as if he is William Webb Ellis reincarnated. 

Even if the next England game doesn’t go the All Blacks’ way, the commentary will be “it’s a new coaching group” and “they have only had the team for two weeks”, which are relevant points, but a diluted argument given the experience on the field.

There has been no other All Blacks coach who has the media eating out of their hands like Robertson. 

With his outgoing personality and openness to talk, he is easy for them to promote. 

The question is, will that continue over the next four years? If, and when, he comes under pressure, will he be able to sustain his easy attitude against an overseas media that will not be part of his fan club? 

With adversity and pressure, people will change. Will he be able to face direct questions about his style, selections and game plan?

Robertson has had the safety of being a big fish in a very small pond, with his coaching success coming in a Super Rugby competition that was greatly weakened with the withdrawal of the South African teams. 

He has now left the safety of the Australasian media pack and is swimming in an international ocean that has a different set of expectations.

The next few weeks will tell us little as the experienced players he has picked will rinse and repeat an already entrenched game plan.

The real test will be in September when they travel to South Africa, then look to lock the Bledisloe Cup away again for another year against an Australian side that has a limited talent pool but will be well organised under Joe Schmidt.

Finishing the year with a Northern Hemisphere tour which includes England, Ireland France and Italy, the Italians aside, the true test will be playing the big three at home.

I personally hope he is the most successful coach ever, because that means the All Blacks are successful and I want them to win every game they play. Even though most countries only judge success on the World Cup, we expect a high success rate every time the All Blacks play.

What growth the All Blacks have over the next four years will be the true test of this coaching group, and how they prove themselves on the world stage. 

So for all the media cheerleaders out there, let’s hold off on the bronze statue of Robertson outside the new Christchurch stadium for a few years yet.

•  Sisson is a former player, Lincoln, Lincoln University and representative coach and New Zealand age group selector