The Orcas – who would be based in Christchurch – are still at the bid stage, but speculation is mounting that a 20th team will be admitted to the NRL in 2029 and the Southern franchise look to be the favourites.
Robertson’s signature could help the team garner support – especially from the rugby union community. It is also a statement of intent.
“I think it shows the open-mindedness that we have of the club, you know, the vision and the passion and also the ambition that we’ve got. He won’t compromise his principles to fit in with mediocrity, and that fits right in with the philosophy that we have going forward and the ambitions we have,” Lowe said.
The move underlines the intention of the Southern Orcas to feed off New Zealand’s pool of talent outside of the 13-man code.
“There’s a heck of a lot of talent in New Zealand, and they’re not all playing rugby league. There’s a heck of a lot of young talent currently involved in rugby union that would easily make the transition to rugby league, and I think you see that on a regular basis in the NRL now,” Lowe said.
The Southern Orcas bid is led by Sir Graham Lowe and businessman Andrew Chalmers.
Robertson lost his role as All Blacks coach at the beginning of the year, just two years into a four-year tenure. He was replaced by Dave Rennie. Robertson had guided the Crusaders to seven Super Rugby titles before taking up the role as All Blacks head coach.
Today, a spokesperson for Robertson gave a short statement: “Like any coach between roles, Scott has had a number of approaches since finishing his role with the All Blacks, but he won’t be commenting on any of them.”
Lowe spoke highly of Robertson’s coaching credentials.
“He just oozes leadership, he oozes inspiration, and that’s what you need at this level. One of the key ingredients is being able to get the best out of people, inspire others around you, and Scott can certainly do that,” he said.
Lowe says he has met with Robertson face-to-face several times about it and that the offer is sitting with Robertson and his management team.
“The ball’s in Razor’s court at the moment, but I don’t want to push him or pressure him in any way.
“This is a big call for us to make, and if we had even 1% doubt about it, we wouldn’t have made it, because we want to get everything right from the start. We’re just super confident and hopeful that this offer will be accepted by Scott.”
Robertson has been approached for comment.
Mike Thorpe is a senior multimedia journalist for the Herald, based in Christchurch. He has been a broadcast journalist across television and radio for 20 years and joined the Herald in August 2024.