Bringing Scott Robertson into the Springbok set-up would be “straight out of Rassie Erasmus’ playbook”.
This is according to New Zealand Herald rugby writer Gregor Paul, who has suggested that while unlikely, the move is not entirely impossible.
Robertson is currently weighing up his next step after his abrupt departure as All Blacks coach, with Paul reporting that the 51-year-old is eager to “quickly land a new job and resurrect his career”.
There are complications. As part of what Paul describes as a “circa NZ$1-million termination settlement”, Robertson is understood to have agreed to a 12-month restraint of trade from coaching a tier-one nation. There is “believed to be a potential early break clause where he could join a tier-one team this year after the All Blacks have played that nation”, although that may depend on NZ Rugby’s discretion.
It is within that context that Paul floats the possibility of Robertson joining attack coach Tony Brown in South Africa.
“While this may seem far-fetched, arguably Robertson’s best chance of landing a role is with the Springboks,” he writes.
Paul adds that it “would be straight out of Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus’ playbook to hire Robertson later this year to try to spook the All Blacks”.
ALSO: ‘Razor was just on edge, always tense’
He argues Erasmus “knows that with the Springboks destined to meet the All Blacks in the quarter-final of next year’s [World Cup] tournament, how unsettling it would be for New Zealand to have a narrative running about their former coach having switched sides”.
On a practical level, Paul notes: “Robertson has a super skill in that he can pick apart attack patterns – a quality that would make the Springboks yet stronger if they gave him a tight brief to hyper analyse opponents.”
FREE DIGI-MAG: How Andre the Giant became hybrid hero
Still, he concedes that Robertson joining the Boks “feels the longest of Hollywood long shots”.
Paul also reports that Robertson’s representative inquired about the Queensland Reds job and that his name was also put in front of Harlequins in London.
Should Rassie bring Razor into the Bok set-up?
Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
The post Rassie to rope in Razor? appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
