4 days ago
Robertson wary of unpredictability of French
Scott Robertson unintentionally gave All Blacks fans the perfect analogy to consider ahead of a test in Dunedin that could have wildly different outcomes.
Robertson was asked this week how his team would approach tonight's clash with France, the first of three, at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
The second-year All Blacks coach furrowed his brow and trained his intense eyes on the questioner before summing up the situation.
"You just want to start well, and I think that's important as a group.
"There's always going to be a storyline, depending on what happens after the first or second game, so we want to write the story early and get into it."
And what will that story be?
Will it be the newish-looking All Blacks letting rip in the first test of the season and scoring some cracking tries under the roof?
Will it be an echo of the past few tests in Dunedin and feature a rather underwhelming performance by the men in black that ends with a squeaky win?
Or, merde, will it be some sort of Stephen King horror tale, that of a written-off bunch of plucky Frenchmen shocking the mighty All Blacks with an upset from the ends of the earth?
This first chapter of Scott Robertson: Book Two rests so much on the great unknown of what to expect from a French team shorn of most of their leading players thanks to workload concerns.
The facts do not lie — this is a vastly under-strength visiting team, and the All Blacks will start as almost unbackable favourites — but Robertson, as he must, is wary of what world rugby's most unpredictable nation will deliver.
"They've got a blend of experience and also the youth. And it can be dangerous when expectations are off a little bit.
"They can turn up, and we give full respect to whoever is put in front of us on Saturday."
French rugby had a "clear DNA", Robertson said.
"We learned that last year, and nothing's really changed.
"They're a very good territory team, they put pressure on you, they keep you on your back fence as much as they possibly can, and they force errors.
"They can also get the ball away and they're quick and they've got speed and youth."
The All Blacks can never take any test or series lightly.
That is the reality of being expected to win, all the time and every time, and a convincing performance is especially important given the All Blacks were underwhelming at times in Robertson's first year.
Nevertheless, a July series against a depleted French team is the ideal opportunity to blood some newcomers, to build depth and to answer some lingering questions surrounding certain positions.
Popular Highlanders lock Fabian Holland and Otago No 8 Christian Lio-Willie are the fresh faces in the starting XV, and forwards Ollie Norris and Du'Plessis Kirifi will look to impress Robertson from the bench.
"They're all hungry, so that's a great thing.
"They're excited, you know.
"They're into their homework, they've connected with the group. You have to pull them off the computers a little bit because they're pretty keen to do all the right stuff."
The best thing about being on debut is that you get the closest thing to a free pass in terms of your performance.
There is not quite the same latitude extended to some relative veterans in various positions.
Much interest will focus on how Rieko Ioane performs in his return to wing from centre, and on whether a seasoned Beauden Barrett is starting a long final phase of his All Blacks career as the best option at No 10, and on how Tupou Vaa'i enjoys a run at blindside flank.
Significantly — and this appears to have gone almost entirely unnoticed — there will be some acid on props Ethan de Groot and Fletcher Newell to step up in the absence of first-choice bookends Tamaiti Williams and Tyrel Lomax.
Not many French teams, after all, lack fire in the front row.
Neither Robertson nor the All Blacks need the first chapter of the season to be a difficult scene-setter.
They would love a start that hooks us immediately, a gutsy middle with plenty of action, and a triumphant finish before moving on to part two in Wellington.
