Springboks legend Victor Matfield has questioned Scott Robertson’s cautious nature ahead of this weekend’s Bledisloe Cup encounter.
Although the All Blacks boss has handed out nine debuts this year, he does stay loyal to his players, as evidenced by the selection for the Wallabies clash.
Only three that have made their international bows in 2025 will feature in Saturday’s Test in Auckland, with one of those – either Simon Parker or Fabian Holland – missing out had captain Scott Barrett been fit.
Few changes from the All Blacks
Following their 43-10 defeat to the Springboks, Robertson has made just a single tactical alteration to the starting XV with Caleb Clarke coming into the back three and Damian McKenzie dropping to the bench.
Matfield has therefore been surprised that New Zealand’s head coach has decided not to rotate more, particularly in comparison to Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus.
“The guys didn’t perform at a certain level – shouldn’t they know there are consequences? I don’t say make 15 changes but if there were three or four guys who didn’t stand up, didn’t perform in the second biggest Test match of the season, shouldn’t they make a change?” he said on the Rivals podcast.
“That was probably the biggest thing with Rassie which was, ‘listen guys, you had the opportunity at Eden Park, this is a big Test for us, some of you didn’t come through. I’m going to give other guys an opportunity to see what they can do’.
“I know it’s a big risk and I know as players we’re always like, ‘give us another chance’, but it’s almost like showing to them that there are other guys who can do the job.”
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Robertson has revealed Project 4-4-4, which is the target of having four options for each position during this four-year cycle with the end goal being a fourth Rugby World Cup title, but the ex-Boks lock has not seen that in action.
Matfield has even suggested that Robertson needs to be tougher on his players, otherwise complacency may set in and the culture will suffer as a result.
The 48-year-old did not state the All Blacks are guilty of that currently but that it is something they must be wary of.
“You’re not always just safe in your little environment. I’ve seen it with teams, and I’m not talking about the All Blacks [at the moment], where they almost start believing their own nonsense they’re talking – not seeing the weaknesses within the squad,” he said.
“That’s where Rassie is very hard. If you don’t hit certain stats and you’re not up to it, you’re out.
“If you’re not in the 23, you’re negative, you’ll be kicked out of the squad. If you don’t perform on the Saturday, there are other players, they will get an opportunity.”
Rassie’s brilliance
Matfield pointed to last year’s Rugby Championship victories over the Wallabies in Australia as to how Erasmus gets it right.
“Last year, when we played Australia in the second Test match, we played a young team and in the first half they struggled,” he said.
“The easiest thing he could have done with all the experienced guys on the bench is, ‘listen, go on and change the game’.
“He said: ‘No, I’ve picked the youngsters, you need to come through in the second half’, and they did come through in that second half.
“That’s really one thing Rassie got right within the squad. Everyone knows it’s a 34-man squad, it’s not a 15-man or 23-man team, everyone is there. Whoever gets an opportunity needs to perform because otherwise someone else is going to get the opportunity.
“For me, this is the first time with New Zealand where it doesn’t matter what happened, they almost just stick with the same guys. I haven’t seen other guys in the New Zealand jersey, I don’t know guys that can step in because no one’s got an opportunity.”