All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has given an insight into the theme he hopes will bind his squad together this year.
The former Crusaders coach became legendary for his season-theming which he used to inspire and create a sense of identity and togetherness in Christchurch during his former team’s inevitable march to a championship.
They were usually kept in-house, though.
So, on one level, the fact that the man known as Razor felt compelled to reveal elements of his theme to an audience of schoolchildren and other members of the public, plus a section of the media, at an event at the All Blacks’ new base at the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport in Wellington today may raise eyebrows.
On another, more transparency may be exactly what Robertson and the new All Blacks management is going for as they begin a journey that will take in 14 Tests this year, starting against England in Dunedin a week on Saturday.
“Together we walk,” is the centrepiece, Robertson revealed today on stage with his squad, including injured players such as Sam Cane and Will Jordan, who weren't named in his initial group on Monday.
As such, it is perhaps appropriate that he does give New Zealanders an idea about what he is striving for.
“Together is a connection piece,” Robertson added. “We come together from all over the country. These players have been given a gift from their mum and dad to play our great game of rugby.
“It draws them to be here right now. It’s our time in the black jersey to show that gift. We’ve come together but also our nation, our country, comes together.
“The All Blacks, the black jersey, is something that connects us, not just here but here in New Zealand but on the world stage. And we walk together.
“We’re representing the past players that went before us that left deep footprints and now it’s our chance to walk forward into the blackness.
“It’s something that’s beautiful and a gift that we’ve been given from the past and then we create a future for all you young future Black Ferns and All Blacks.”
Following on from his squad announcement in Christchurch on Monday, the Razor era has got off to quite the start. The next revelation will come when he and his selectors announce their first match-day squad in Dunedin next Thursday, and the first tangible result will come under the roof two days later.
Speaking of being undercover, Robertson’s address was made an indoor training centre at the NZCIS, a new purpose-built sporting and conference centre over 18 hectares in Lower Hutt, a facility he described as a “game changer for us”.
The All Blacks will increasingly base themselves at the facility, which features accommodation, rehabilitation and all the training resources imaginable. The Hurricanes, this year’s Super Rugby top seeds heading in the playoffs, base themselves there, as do the Phoenix, Baseball NZ, and others.
Beauden Barrett, named as a first-five in the squad alongside Damian McKenzie but likely to start at fullback in Dunedin, said a different vibe in the camp had quickly become apparent.
“It certainly has a different feel or significance about it because of the new relationships – obviously working with new coaches and players in some cases,” Barrett told 1News. “There’s been a lot of build-up to this point with the new management in charge.”
Asked about how younger brother Scott, 30, may go as captain, Beauden, 33, said: “We’re going to find out aren’t we? I’m obviously just stoked for him. I’ll be right behind him supporting him with anything he needs. It’s a hugely proud moment for our family.”
Stories of the three Barrett All Blacks beginning their careers by running around on the family farm in Taranaki have become legend, but Beauden said captaincy was “never really mentioned. We were always talking about heroes or players like having dibs on Christian Cullen or the like”.
England, meanwhile, trained today behind closed doors on North Harbour Stadium’s No.1 pitch, a move which may have raised eyebrows among members of the Moana Pasifika team who were based there this season and were forbidden to train or play on it.
SHARE ME