WOW FACTOR

SCOTT ROBERTSON IS UNORTHODOX BUT HE'S ALSO BRILLIANT AND WANTS A JOB WITH THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS.

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Three years ago, Scott Robertson watched his Crusaders team huff and puff but eventually come up short against the British and Irish Lions on a typically cold Christchurch mid-winter evening.

The Lions’ 12-3 victory was a rare setback for a coach in his first year in charge of a club which had responded well to his unique way of doing things.

They were leading the Super Rugby competition at that point and thoughts among the majority of fans in the top half of the South Island, and much further afield, were turning to the real possibility of a first championship victory since 2008.

Their wishes came true of course and have ever since; Robertson winning an unprecedented four titles in a row, including this year’s Super Rugby Aotearoa which was hurriedly pieced together after the coronavirus caused a swift demise to a competition reaching the end of its use-by date.

Back in 2017, Warren Gatland’s men hadn’t exactly set New Zealand on fire at that early stage of the tour. The Lions were less than impressive in beating the New Zealand Barbarians in Whangarei and losing to the Blues in Auckland a few days later, but their defence and discipline proved too good for a Crusaders team containing an All Blacks tight five plus a backline including Richie Mo’unga, George Bridge, Jack Goodhue, Israel Dagg, Seta Tamanivalu and David Havili.

And yet, for a coach desperate to make history, the disappointment was quickly filed away out of sight if not out of mind.

In hindsight the different challenges the Lions provided would have been hugely helpful to the development of all of Robertson’s players and Robertson himself.

In the post-match press conference, as he answered a question alongside his captain Sam Whitelock, someone’s phone began loudly ringing. Robertson stopped. “Wow,” he deadpanned to a media contingent, which quickly broke into laughter.