Bad blood? All Blacks coach denies feud with Schmidt

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson denied there was bad blood between him and Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt after opting to show some faith in the Kiwi side that was thrashed by a record margin in their last outing.

Robertson is under immense pressure in New Zealand after the All Blacks suffered their biggest ever defeat - a 43-10 loss to South Africa in Wellington. It is part of an underwhelming Rugby Championship campaign, which also saw them lose for the first time in Argentina.

As New Zealand Rugby chair David Kirk told this masthead last week, it’s not quite a point where the NZR are considering moving on Robertson, but a few more losses this year would put the former Crusaders coach and his coaching team on thin ice. Surrendering the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 2002, when Robertson was in the All Blacks team, would make it wafer-thin.

Part of the spicy intrigue ahead of the first clash at Eden Park on Saturday is a seemingly frosty relationship between Robertson and Schmidt - based on the circumstances of the last All Blacks coach to come under pressure for his job, Ian Foster.

As noted in a column by colleague Paul Cully, Schmidt provided a rare, on-the-record insight into his feelings for Robertson’s actions in 2022, in quotes for Foster’s book, which was released in June.

Schmidt, a close ally and assistant to Foster in 2022-23, indicated he wasn’t impressed with the public pressure put on by Robertson in 2022 to be appointed as the next All Blacks head coach, before Foster finished up at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

“A big part of it was about integrity,” Schmidt is quoted as saying. “The pressure that was being exerted was contributed to by not just New Zealand Rugby, but people aiming up at ‘Fozzie’ [Foster].”

Schmidt name-checked Robertson in follow-up quotes and subsequently turned down NZR’s offer to move onto his All Blacks coaching team, paving the way for him to accept the Wallabies job.

Some in New Zealand believe Schmidt may still be an option to take the All Blacks job in the future.

Asked about Schmidt’s comments in Foster’s book, and whether there is bad blood, Robertson said: “Look, I haven’t read the book, sorry, I’m not sure of the context. I stay away from reading the media as well.

“So look, no (bad blood), Joe’s Joe, he’s been around, he’s a good rugby man.”

Robertson said he would potentially have a beer with Schmidt after the second Test in Perth next week.

“He’s highly respected, what he’s done as a player and a man in world rugby, so yeah, we look forward to the contest on Saturday night,” Robertson said.

Asked later whether he stood behind the comments in Foster’s book, Schmidt said he had been mindful of the immense pressure on Foster at the time, and the toll it was having.

“Probably where I was, I was just seeing the impact it was having on Ian Foster and that accumulation of pressure, whether it was mainstream media or social media or seeing his family,” Schmidt said.

“You don’t want to see somebody coming under that sort of pressure and I thought he’d cope really well with it, but if there’s anything you can do to release that pressure a little bit you want to do it.

“Again, I’d known Fozzie for a long time and being respectful of the pressure he was under, that was probably part of my response at the time.”

New Zealand has been awash with acrimonious commentary for a fortnight about the All Blacks’ loss to the Boks in Wellington, but Robertson resisted the urge to make sweeping changes.

The All Blacks side has six changes, with most coming from players returning from injury, including hooker Codie Taylor, halfbacks Cam Roigard and Cortez Ratima, and winger Caleb Clarke.

Skipper Scott Barrett was ruled out with a shoulder injury, which sees Ardie Savea return to the captaincy.

“We believe a lot of the combinations and the cohesion of the group that won a few weeks ago here (against South Africa), it’s really important for us to keep that connection. They won a title fight together, and it’s their opportunity to go and do it again this weekend for Bledisloe,” he said.

“We chased a game that got away from us, but [for] the majority we played some really good footy, and a lot of the core group of those guys get to play again. You learn on stage, and they’ve been under the spotlight, and it’s another chance for them.”

Robertson said the Wallabies were “always a threat”.

“The games got down pretty close last year, they stayed in the fight, especially that first test,” he said.

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