Justin Marshall believes Scott Robertson has “lost a little trust” in New Zealand chiefs that could push the Crusaders supremo towards coaching England.
The All Blacks came close to recruiting Robertson in August, only for New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) bosses to keep faith with incumbent Ian Foster instead.
Robertson has led the Crusaders to six Super Rugby titles in a glittering coaching stint that followed a playing career comprising 22 All Blacks caps.
The 48-year-old is on England’s radar as one of the top options to replace Eddie Jones after the 2023 World Cup.
Robertson is thought to be keen on the role, and his former Crusaders team-mate Marshall admitted the in-demand coach could easily be swayed by England’s interest.
“Scott Robertson has had, very much in his mind, some disappointment, because he’s lost a little trust in the New Zealand Rugby Union who had made him some promises and then changed their mind,” Marshall told the Evening Standard Rugby Podcast.
“So would he trust that, regardless of what happens at the Rugby World Cup he would coach the All Blacks? Because they have said that before and it hasn’t happened.
“So I would imagine he’s a bit worried about hanging on, and then if say the All Blacks win the World Cup and they don’t offer him the job, when there’s a team knocking his door down very much at the moment.”
Marshall won 81 caps in a decade-long Test stint with New Zealand between 1995 and 2005, before heading to Europe for five more years of club rugby.
The 49-year-old joined the Evening Standard Rugby Podcast this week, to chat all things All Blacks with host Lawrence Dallaglio.
Marshall and Dallaglio were the two captains when England drew 26-26 with New Zealand at Twickenham in 1997, leaving the two old combatants to draw the parallels with Saturday’s madcap 25-25 encounter between Eddie Jones’ side and the current All Blacks.
Former New Zealand scrum-half Marshall also opened up on exactly what makes Robertson such a hot coaching commodity.
“He’s very, very good at creating a culture, and what good coaches do, they have this ability to get a group of other people around the team that enables them to function and create culture,” said Marshall.
“Culture is all about making people happy in the environment. Every team has a multi-cultural environment, with different backgrounds, trying to keep them and their families happy is the key thing.
.@dallaglio8 and @NickPurewal are joined by Justin Marshall on the new Evening Standard Rugby Podcast.
— Standard Sport (@standardsport) November 22, 2022
He chats best All Black memories, what he learned playing club rugby in the UK and why he’s frustrated with the current New Zealand set-up.
Listen 👇https://t.co/GZ5wW0JGBU
“He’s very good at theming, creating goals for players and for the team, to create success.
“He has a very good brain for the game but also great people underneath him who help him implement things.
“You see people group around him when they do well and when they win, in breakdancing celebrations and things, and that’s because he’s part of the team.
“And that’s key, you want players in an environment where they are going to thrive.”
