What incoming All Blacks coach Scott Robertson can expect from new mentor Wayne Smith

Don't expect to spot Wayne Smith sweating bullets successful the coach's container alongside incoming All Blacks manager Scott Robertson adjacent year.

Smith's latest rugby reincarnation with NZ Rugby, arsenic a show manager to the All Blacks and Black Ferns, won't impact him getting his hands soiled connected the grooming fields oregon sitting alongside coaches during trial matches.

Discovering ways to woody with the pressure, and rapidly find solutions if their teams are being hammered during games, volition beryllium thing incumbent Black Ferns manager Allan Bunting and Robertson indispensable fig retired for themselves.

Unlike Bunting, who had antecedently worked arsenic an adjunct with the Black Ferns and coached the Black Ferns sevens team, Robertson, who volition regenerate incumbent All Blacks manager Ian Foster successful 2024, hasn't been blooded astatine the highest level.

How Robertson acclimatises to the scrutiny, and value of expectation, arsenic the brag of 1 of the biggest rugby brands successful the satellite volition beryllium important arsenic the All Blacks participate a caller era.

For the vastly experienced Smith, a erstwhile All Blacks No 10 who guided the Black Ferns to a World Cup rubric past twelvemonth and was connected the All Blacks coaching unit erstwhile the squad won the planetary tournaments successful 2011 and 2015, this latest duty won't necessitate him to propulsion connected the boots and deterioration a whistle astatine trainings.

His little volition impact him offering caller perspectives and solutions to Robertson and Bunting, preferably successful idiosyncratic alternatively than connected Zoom calls. But erstwhile it comes to game-day, Smith, who said helium won't circuit overseas, the coaches volition beryllium connected their own.

He's assured Robertson, presently the Crusaders coach, won’t melt if things spell askew.

“It's a hard one, due to the fact that you can't bash it for anyone else,” Smith, 66, says. “You person conscionable got to beryllium capable to grip it yourself, and he's been successful large unit situations. You conscionable look astatine the last against the Blues past year.

“They weren't favourites to win, but helium and his coaches came up with a program that worked.”

Although Smith joked that helium inactive has bruised ribs from sitting alongside Sir Graham Henry during the All Blacks' tense 8-7 triumph implicit France successful the 2011 World Cup final, helium has ever tried to instrumentality himself distant from the result.

“I americium a existent computer-studier, truthful I similar to person a look backmost astatine what we did and however we could bash better.

“So it keeps you, benignant of, unemotional. You are looking for solutions, alternatively than getting uptight astir it. Watching him [Robertson] successful the box, from what I person seen connected TV, I don't deliberation it volition beryllium a large contented for him.

“Yes, it volition beryllium large measurement up successful unit due to the fact that you person the satellite looking astatine you alternatively than New Zealand, but I don't deliberation it volition beryllium a problem.”

Smith, who besides coached the All Blacks successful 2000 and for the bulk of 2001, was well-placed to connection insights into however Robertson operates. When helium was Crusaders manager betwixt 1997 and 1999, Smith had Robertson, a escaped guardant who played the archetypal of his 23 tests successful 1998, connected his roster.

Giving Robertson support to imagination up moves astatine trainings could beryllium entertaining.

“I knew consecutive distant that helium was antithetic to the different guys,” Smith said.

“I enactment him successful complaint of a weird onslaught group. At the extremity of each grooming I wanted to trial our defence, and truthful helium organised this radical of guys to onslaught our defence and travel up with the astir outrageous moves you could imagine.

“It was a amusive clip for them, but for maine it was astir getting the antiaircraft movements right. He was precise originative backmost then.”

Robertson wasn't shy successful digging into his container of tricks; helium would get players to flick passes down their backs, oregon to unreal to driblet the ball, by rolling it on the ground. It was a ploy to effort to fool the defence by making players halt – earlier outfoxing them by restarting the attack.

“He was competitory and innovative,” Smith added. “They would beryllium my words for him arsenic a player, and he's taken that successful arsenic a coach, clearly.”

NZ Rugby CEO Mark Robinson, who was instrumental successful getting Smith to instrumentality complaint of the Black Ferns pursuing the departure of Glenn Moore conscionable implicit a twelvemonth ago, said persuading Smith to mentor Robertson and Bunting was critical.

“He knows that we deliberation the satellite of him, and would emotion to person him progressive successful immoderate mode helium tin be,'' Robinson said.

“We had a fewer conversations astir however this could look, and however it could beryllium structured, and truly blessed we person travel up with thing that helium is comfy with.”

The remainder of 2023 volition beryllium engaged for Smith and woman Trish, arsenic they hole for an extended vacation successful Europe.

It volition see attending the 50th day of erstwhile All Blacks and Crusaders midfielder Tabai Matson successful Tuscany, and gathering with Smith's aged mates from the nine helium played for successful Italy successful the 1980s.

“I americium amazed and truly chuffed that I americium capable to proceed successful the game,” Smith said. “The remainder of my 2023 is beauteous good taken up. I can't adjacent marque the World Cup, I person got truthful galore things on.

“So to beryllium capable to commencement this successful 2024, I think, is going to beryllium thing breathtaking for me. I thought I was going to discontinue – but intelligibly not.”