The French 7-a-side rugby teamOlympic champions, don’t have a monopoly on fiery little dances. Long before them, New Zealander Scott Robertson became famous for his breakdancing steps after each of his team’s titles. the province of the Crusaders in Super Rugby. And there have been many: five in a row between 2017 and 2023 (the 2020 edition was cancelled due to Covid-19). An undisputed dominance in the southern hemisphere’s flagship competition that has made the glory of their 50-year-old coach, also famous for his blond mane and passion for surfing. His appointment as All Blacks coachwas made official after the final of the last World Cup, which ended in a narrow defeat (11-12) to South Africa.

The start of a success story for the man who had been rejected in 2019 by the New Zealand federation, which had preferred him to the jansenist Ian Foster? Not really, as the runners-up to the world champions suffered a serious setback this summer during the last Rugby Championship, with two defeats to the Springboks and, more seriously, a home defeat to the Argentine Pumas. No happy honeymoon for Robertson, who immediately found himself in a tough spot. “We all did our introspection, reflecting on what we could do better on the pitch as players. The same applied to the coaches, who took the same approach.” said prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi. The assistant coach in charge of the attack, Leon MacDonaldleft his post, in disagreement with Scott Robertson.

As I said before, we could have won every game this year. We can still be better

Scott Robertson

A salutary electroshock. The runners-up to the world champions woke up spectacularly this autumn when they set foot in Europe. With two prestigious wins over Old Continent giants England and Irelandbeaten for the first time after 19 straight wins at Aviva Stadium. The awakening of the bête noire. “As I said before, we could have won every game this year, confided the Kiwi coach. We can still be better, but there were a few key moments that swung the momentum in our favor, whereas it was sometimes reversed.”

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Above all, the men in black – who have a wealth of experience, with 1,048 caps in the 23-man squad lining up against Galthié’s men at the Stade de France this Saturday evening – have rediscovered, in their first two autumn outings, what makes them so strong: iron discipline, a rare ability to hold onto the ball and multiply playing time, and formidable efficiency in the scoring areas. The black magic is working again. “This kind of match requires you to trust your instincts”, Robertson, who will be facing France for the first time, victors of the last two encounters under Ian Foster.

Smiling and pleasant, Scott Robertson contrasts with the cold, austere character of his predecessors. This is no doubt due to his atypical background. At the end of his playing career, Roberston – who has confided that he suffers from dyslexia – began by coaching the Sumner team, a club close to his home in Christchurch. He led this amateur team (made up of tradesmen and bricklayers, among others) to regional glory in the Canterbury league. A small tour de force which inevitably reached the ears of the directors of his former Canterbury club, who brought him in as an assistant. He then went on to win the Under-20 World Championship in 2015 with the “Baby Blacks”, whose ranks included Jack Goodhue (playing for Castres since 2023) and Anton Lienert-Brown (substitute this Saturday).

I’d been through the All Blacks and Crusaders system, which was very disciplined and structured. Whereas in France, they didn’t like that, preferring to maul and play with the ball.

Scott Robertson

For the new New Zealand coach, this clash with Les Bleus will have a special flavor, as he played for Perpignan for three seasons (between 2003 and 2026), playing 50 matches including the Top 14 final, as a substitute, lost to Stade Français (20-38) in 2004. Although his time at Usap was marked by injuries (notably to his knee), Robertson retains a special bond with Catalonia, as one of his three children, his son Macklan-Gaultier, was born there. Asked this week about his experience in France, he first joked about citing Christophe Porcu, Usap’s rugged bald second row, as his first memory.

Before adding more seriously: “I’d been through the All Blacks and Crusaders system, which was very disciplined and structured. Whereas in France, they didn’t like that, they preferred to maul and play, so the contrast was striking. But there’s no right or wrong way, it’s just a different way of playing. I learned a lot about myself and it definitely helped me in my coaching because you learn to understand the different strengths of teams and their philosophies.”

The former Blacks third row (23 caps between 1998 and 2002, 4 tries), who was nicknamed “Razor” for the ferocity of his tackling, had admitted some time ago that he would like to coach in our country. “One of the reasons I went to France was to learn their language and understand their culture, he confided. I did it, but now it’s one of my personal goals to go back one day and win the Brennus Shield. Or even coach the French team…” For the time being, the position is only available after the 2027 World Cup.