Editorial: The lessons Scott Robertson can take from England’s football manager

New Zealand coach Scott Robertson will take charge of his first All Blacks test against England on Saturday in Dunedin. Photo / Getty Images

EDITORIAL

Both the All Blacks coach Scott Robertson and his English rival Steve Borthwick might see parallels for themselves playing out on the sideline of football’s European Championship.

It’s often said on these shores that All Blacks fans have unrealistic expectations of their team.

At least these expectations are based on reasonable assessment and solid experience: the men in black have won more than 76% of the test matches they have played (next best: daylight).

Their opponents in Saturday’s season-opener in Dunedin come from a land with a similarly ambitious expectation of their most high-profile sporting side. The England rugby team visiting New Zealand might sometimes envy their football-playing compatriots for the amount of support they gather in Blighty.

But the England footballers – currently limping their way through the knockout rounds of the European Championships – know all too well the flipside of such intense fan devotion.

Their manager, the beleaguered Gareth Southgate, has an impressive record with the national team. In his six years in charge, England have won seven knockout matches at European Championships and the World Cup. For context, they managed just six knockout wins between 1968 and 2016.

Under Southgate, England came within a penalty shootout of beating Italy in the 2020 European Championship final and made the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup. For a side that has historically – sometimes heroically – underperformed on the biggest stages, these are excellent results.

Yet anything other than total victory is seen by the rabid England supporters as complete capitulation. English football fans (pumped up by the English sporting press) lose their sense of perspective when discussing their team’s prospects.

All Blacks fans, by contrast, can quite reasonably expect their team to win pretty much everything that matters – they’ve been doing just that for more than a century.

At the weekend, Southgate was saved from the worst public opprobrium in their Round-of-16 elimination match at the Euros, when a late Jude Bellingham bicycle kick followed by a Harry Kane header stole victory against Slovakia. They’ll meet Switzerland in the quarter-finals, and might yet go on to win the whole thing.

For new All Blacks coach Robertson, Southgate’s time in charge should stand as a lesson in ignoring the critics. There will be tough times ahead for Robertson and his men. A nicely constructed campaign can be derailed by a crucial pass that doesn’t stick, an unfathomable refereeing call or an opponent who plays the game of their lives.

Robertson will find All Blacks supporters can be voluble in expressing their discontent, though (happily) not as deranged as those English football fans.

When the All Blacks machine stutters or flops, there will be critics in the media, too – some in the pages of the Herald, as Robertson’s predecessor Ian Foster could attest. Like Southgate, Robertson will need to learn the art of rising above it.

For live commentary of All Blacks v England, join Elliott Smith on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio.

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