Kiwi coach Robertson happy despite runners-up finish

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said he was pleased with his team’s performances in the Rugby Championship despite a second-place finish that caused the New Zealanders to fail to add a 21st title to their record southern hemisphere haul.

A 33-13 win over Australia in Wellington on Saturday with SA’s 48-7 defeat of Argentina allowed the All Blacks to climb into the runners-up berth in Robertson’s first campaign since replacing Ian Foster after the 2023 World Cup.

“I’m really pleased with a lot of aspects. We’ve had a great three or four weeks of training, and putting it on the field is pleasing for us, but we’ve got a lot more in us,” Robertson said after completing consecutive wins over the Wallabies.

“We probably could’ve won every game. There are moments in those games and moments with big momentum swings, ref calls or your own call or game management, there are key moments that you’ve got to get right or the momentum swings too much.

“One focus that we’ve spent a lot of time on is around our discipline and that’s an area we’ve got to get better at.

“We put too much pressure on [ourselves] off the back of it and we’re going to address it, especially when we go north, but really pleased with it, really proud.

“The key is the young guys that have come in and players that have played the first two, three, four, five Test matches have stepped up to Test match level quickly. So pleased overall.”

The win in Wellington came in New Zealand’s final home Test of the season. Robertson will now take his team to the northern hemisphere to conclude the year with five Tests in a month.

The All Blacks play Japan on October 25 before travelling west to take on England, Ireland, France and Italy in a series of clashes to be played throughout November.

That demanding schedule means Robertson is already considering making significant changes to his team for the meeting with Eddie Jones’ Japan side in Yokohama.

“We’re in Test season so we’ve got to be mindful of guys’ minutes and giving guys opportunities,” he said.

“There will be a balance in Japan and a few different names on the team sheet.”

Reuters