Despite the temptation of building for the future with his first trip to the Northern Hemisphere, Robertson has opted to include the departing duo of Sam Cane and TJ Perenara in his main squad.
Under previous coaching regimes, the All Blacks have been swift to discard players whose futures lie outside of New Zealand.
However, having weighed up every aspect of selection, Robertson maintains the inclusion of both Cane and Perenara was the best thing for the All Blacks in their current state.
“It was a deep conversation,” said Robertson. “It’s always a balance between having experience, guys who are test-fit, balance of leadership and what it takes to win up north.
“They’ve got a lot of those qualities. They’re in a test team playing good footy still. That was part of it.
“They can build, they can be a big part of helping the next players come through, and building for the future.
“On the balance of it, that’s why they’re coming.”
Perhaps offsetting Robertson’s opportunity cost is the fact that the All Blacks tour will run concurrently with the All Blacks XV, who play games against Irish club side Munster and the Georgian national side.
A handful of players from the All Blacks XV will link up with the senior side for a one-off test against Japan at the end of October. The All Blacks made a similar selection move in 2018, which resulted in eight debutants to face the Brave Blossoms.
And while this instance will unlikely see the same number of new faces, it does give Robertson the chance to look at players like Peter Lakai and Noah Hotham – both of whom could have been selected in Cane and Perenara’s places.
As far as Robertson goes, though, Cane and Perenara’s roles on tour extend far beyond what they do on the pitch.
Since his return to the starting XV in South Africa, Cane now has complete stranglehold of the No 7 jersey, despite the challenge of the likes of Dalton Papali’i, who was considered the frontrunner for the job under Robertson.
But because of the All Blacks’ selection policy around overseas players, Cane’s international career will come to an end over the coming weeks.
TJ Perenara of the All Blacks (left) and New Zealand coach Scott Robertson. Photo / Photosport
Asked over if he had any regrets over losing the former captain, though, Robertson maintained he won’t stand in senior players’ way, and will instead look to maximise their experience while he can.
“I had a good conversation with him and TJ about their roles on tour,” he continued.
“How does it look? How do we get the best out of them, but how do they get the best out of the next young All Blacks so they can see them come through?
“Cohesion is really important as we go north. All those combinations and relationships count.
“We’ve kept a tried combination.”
The All Blacks begin their northern tour against Japan on October 26, before heading to Europe to face England, Ireland, France and Italy in consecutive weeks.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks XV have matches against Irish club side Munster, and the Georgian national team in Montpellier.
Alex Powell is an online sports editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.
