Scott Robertson Sees All Blacks’ Chance To Shine Against England And Ireland
By Othieno Bonface
Robertson chose his words carefully. In what promises to be an exhilarating end-of-season tour, head coach Scott Robertson is optimistic about that lie ahead for his All Blacks as they prepare to take on familiar foes Japan and European teams such as England and Ireland.
Scott Robertson, Head coach believes the All Blacks have an “opportunity” waiting for them up north when they visit Japan and Europe for their five-Test end-of-season tour. On their travels, including England and Ireland, the New Zealanders will face some familiar foes, including England and Ireland.
‘Razor’ Robertson’s time in charge of the All Blacks started with back-to-back wins over a spirited England outfit in July. Steve Borthwick’s men were widely considered the underdogs ahead of the two Tests in New Zealand but they put up an almighty fight.
The All Blacks escaped with a 16-15 win at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium, and they needed a Beauden Barrett masterclass off the pine to help get them home one week later at Eden Park in Auckland. New Zealand emerged victorious 24-17 after another thrilling Test.
Thousands of fans in green cheering them on, Ireland truly believed they had the team to win the World Cup but the All Blacks got in the way. But, the Irish are ranked number one in the world now, and they’ll be desperate to showcase why that is on November 8th in Dublin.
“Every Test has got its own little storyline, doesn’t it? That’s the beauty of it all,” Robertson told reporters in Wellington on Sunday morning.
The All Blacks’ Rugby Championship campaign didn’t go to plan as they fell to three defeats from their six Tests. Argentina claimed famous in Wellington, and South Africa also claimed back-to-back wins in front of their fans in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
While the All Blacks were able to end their TRC campaign on a high with two wins over arch-rivals the Wallabies, they still have something to prove up north. They start their tour against Japan before facing England, Ireland, France and finally, Italy.
New Zealand’s most recent result was a 33-13 win over Australia at Sky Stadium. The Wallabies have only managed to win one Test from their last six, and they’ll also be eager to turn that around when they face the home nations in a blockbuster month of Test rugby.
Ahead of next year’s British and Irish Lions series Down Under, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland will all look to pile more pressure on Australia. The Lions is made up of the four teams that the Wallabies face, so this is idyllic preparation for all involved.
On Saturday, Wallabies coach said, “Going north is for us still about building depth because that was this year’s big project was about building depth.”
