Former New Zealand scrum-half Ant Strachan believes it is imperative for All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson to follow Springboks’ boss Rassie Erasmus’ lead by identifying his 45 best players in an effort to build depth in his ranks.
After four rounds of action in this year’s Rugby Championship, only two points separate the four competing nations in the standings with each side winning two Test and losing two in the competition.
Australia are on top of the table with 11 points, one ahead of South Africa and New Zealand, and two clear of Argentina.
The All Blacks are set to host the Wallabies at Eden Park in an eagerly anticipated Bledisloe Cup encounter next Saturday and although the men in black have an outstanding record at the famous venue – as they are currently on a 51-match unbeaten run there – Robertson and his troops head into that fixture after suffering a humiliating 43-10 loss to the Springboks in their previous Test, New Zealand’s heaviest ever defeat.
Despite an outstanding career as a club coach with the Crusaders, Robertson has found the going tough since replacing Ian Foster as All Blacks coach after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Strachan feels a big reason for Robertson’s struggles was the departure of All Blacks legends Sam Whitelock, Aaron Smith, Brodie Retallick and Dane Coles, who all bowed out from the international arena to take up offers at overseas clubs after the global finals in France two years ago.
Keen for Robertson to follow Erasmus’ lead
He feels it is now time for the All Blacks mentor to take a leaf out of his Springboks counterpart’s book by identifying three players who can cover each position in his side.
“The turmoil around Ian Foster’s retention, it was a lot of vociferous comment across the country to get rid of him at the time they held on to him,” he told DSPN with Lachlan Waugh.
“He had a really strong group of players supporting him through the World Cup but that performance and I mean they probably could have and should have won the World Cup based on the experience (in their ranks).
“Of course, those players have departed now and Robertson has stepped into the frame and has had to start building a squad without them. We are not just talking about 20, 30, 40-Test All Blacks. We are talking about a number of 100-Test All Blacks that were instrumental in the way we played.
Losing experienced players was a big setback
“The two players spring to mind, Sam Whitelock, big body, very clinical and accurate with what he does, so competitive, hated losing and led the way up front.
“And then of course Aaron Smith, arguably one of the best nines that has played the game and that is in the history of the game, who was still on the top of his game when he was at the back-end of his career. His involvement, leadership and game management were instrumental to the way we were actually playing the game and there is a number of those other players that sit around them.
“They leave a big hole, but then again, we have to look at if we want to stay ahead of the pack, we know these boys are coming close to retirement. What are we doing with our group of developing players to make sure that there is not a big drop-off when they depart?
“We’ve got to start building those layers in behind and I just wonder, and it’s not just down to one group of coaches across the country, are we really working hard enough to build what (Springboks coach) Rassie Erasmus calls the 45? Because he talks about the 45 all the time.
“They [the Springboks] had 60 initially and then he kind of stripped it back to 45, three teams. I’m not sure we are in that space right now.”