D'Arcy Waldegrave: Tonight could be catastrophic for Scott Robertson

The All Sport Breakfast

Tonight's test match has the potential to be catastrophic for coach Scott Robertson. For the players too if they lose, but more so for the brand-new coach.

The TAB say the All Blacks should overcome the English threat with relative ease, $1.25 plays $3.70, these betting bros are a relevant barometer in these spaces, but sport is sport, it has a nasty habit of upsetting the apple cart which is the inherent joy it presents.

The potential catastrophe of course is becoming the first coach in 30 years to soil the sheets at Eden Park.

Razor’s ascension to the throne has been a turgid and weighty tale, an exercise in how not to manage a coaching transition. It was a period that NZR would rather forget. Hamfisted? Cumbersome? The less said about that pie fight the better.

The much sought after role has been landed and the process of justification has commenced. Step one was shaky, but be it by 20 points or 1, the win was secured. Now for a match that will shape public opinion of Robertson, should it end in defeat.

To cast him and his side as a failure only 2 matches into his tenure would be mean spirited and more than a little premature. But it would set the tone for the year and find a team struggling for traction in acceptance by the NZ rugby public.

Ian Foster won’t be remembered for nearly winning the World Cup. He'll be remembered for being the first coach to lead his men into the abyss of the first home loss to Ireland, the first series loss to them as well, the first test defeat to Argentina and the first home test defeat to Los Pumas too. His win percentage (70%) is just above Laurie Mains, the man who was pulling the strings the last time the ABs tasted defeat at Eden Park.

NZ rugby has a nasty habit of letting loss dominate, the wins are something to behold, but the losses reverberate through the players and fanbase with a brutal resonance.

The monster of an Eden Park defeat hasn’t been seen in years, yet it still casts a foreboding shadow over tonight's game, which brings a chilling dimension to what will be a fascinating exchange.

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