A rigorous touring schedule offers the All Blacks learning opportunities, says coach Scott Robertson

AUCKLAND – Scott Robertson believes he will find out a lot about his All Blacks team in the next six weeks given the tough schedule he has been handed for his first end-of-season tour as coach.

The tour begins in Japan on October 26 before the All Blacks face Northern Hemisphere powerhouses England, Ireland and France in successive weeks. The final test will take place on November 23rd against Italy.

“When you got the fixture list over a year ago, you looked at it and thought, ‘Okay, here we go, we’ll find out a bit about ourselves,'” Robertson told reporters before the team left Auckland on October 17 .

“We had time to prepare well. When you’re on tour, it does some great things. You can get tight and get mutual buy-in, and that’s what we’re looking forward to.”

He accepts that the gap between rugby in the southern and northern hemisphere has closed and believes this will lead to some interesting competitions.

“If you look at the historical statistics, you know the game is balanced. Smaller margins, closer matches. Defensively, the teams are better, they are more aggressive, they defend you,” he added.

“But there are still opportunities, so we’re looking for them. And the people that go into the game thinking, ‘What’s going to happen?’, that’s the fun part of the game.”

Lost 2023 World Cup finalist New Zealand are ranked third in the world after a disappointing Rugby Championship in which they were beaten twice by South Africa and once at home by Argentina.

Robertson also struggled with a minor injury crisis in the back row. Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson and Dalton Papali’i were all forced to withdraw from the squad on October 16.

Unused forward Peter Lakai and suspended Josh Lord were called in as replacements and Robertson said No. 8 Hoskins Sotutu would also have been on the plane had he not suffered a knee injury that would require surgery.

Robertson said the team would be made up of fringe players for the first game against the Brave Blossoms, but suggested scrum half Cam Roigard would get a run as he continues his return from injury.

Robertson, a former All Blacks striker, said he expected some hostility from crowds in London, Dublin and Paris but was also looking forward to it.

“It’s all part of it, isn’t it?” he said.

“I think the passion they bring, the singing, coming to the game early and having some quiet moments, it’s just a different atmosphere. We will accept it and look forward to it.”

REUTERS