NEW ZEALAND LEGEND JUSTIN MARSHALL INSISTS ENGLAND HAVE A 'MASSIVE ADVANTAGE' HEADING INTO SATURDAY'S FIRST TEST, AS HE CLAIMS STEVE BORTHWICK'S MEN CAN SPOIL THE 'VULNERABLE' ALL BLACKS' NEW ERA

• New Zealand are set to play their first match under Scott Robertson on Saturday
• They will face England, and a former New Zealand scrum-half is concerned
• He believes England have a 'real shot' at spoiling the All Blacks' new era 

Even the great and the good of New Zealand rugby are uneasy about the start of the All Blacks’ new era – and England’s capacity to spoil Scott Robertson’s long-awaited debut as head coach.

The popular, surfing, breakdancing former back-rower has been cast for some time as the saviour of the national sport, after guiding the Crusaders to seven successive Super Rugby titles in a sustained period of unprecedented success. Robertson was appointed 16 months ago, long before the end of Ian Foster’s turbulent tenure as his predecessor.

Now the man they call ‘Razor’ has to prove he can cut it at international level, but the first task is no formality. England are seen by Kiwis as dangerous opening-night opponents – a view which was firmly endorsed by Justin Marshall. The former All Black scrum-half and respected media pundit told Mail Sport that, going into the series opener, the visitors hold all the aces.

‘I would say that this week, England have got a massive advantage, in terms of the build-ups of the two teams,’ he said.

’They will know their DNA more than the All Blacks at this stage. My heart still says New Zealand to win, but it’s not going to be easy – this is England’s big chance.

‘I can’t see them winning at Eden Park next week, when the All Blacks have had a match and more time together. But the All Blacks are vulnerable in this first Test of a year, so England have a real shot. The All Blacks will be favourites, playing in New Zealand, but England are more settled under an established coaching team and after playing the Six Nations and then in Japan on this tour, they are the better-prepared side.’

For New Zealanders, there is an engrained perception of England and English rugby which is hard to shake off. It is always seen as being about kicking and pragmatism and power, rather than flair and creativity and daring intent. But these tourists are on an expansion mission and Marshall recognises that the home team cannot afford to keep pigeon-holing them.

‘In my early years as an All Black, we were very aware of the stereotype way that England played,’ he said. ‘There is a pre-conception that England just play a territorial, boring game, but that is a Venus Flytrap if you go in with that mind-set. If you don’t recognise that they have guys with good skill-sets and finishing qualities, you will be ambushed by complacency.

‘I think they will balance up a bit. They won’t go out to play Sevens-type rugby against the All Blacks. The All Blacks can hurt you defensively, with turnovers in particular. But you also don’t want to just kick the ball away to the All Blacks’ back three, because they can hurt you too.’

In a break with tradition, there is an onus on New Zealand to cast off the shackles and convince their sceptical public and pundits that they resurrecting a lost adventurous streak. As a friend of ‘Razor’ and a former team-mate, Marshall hopes that he will release the handbrake.

‘Under the last All Blacks regime, we became a team afraid to play in our own half and have been guilty of kicking the ball away too often,’ he said. ‘That is not in a New Zealand player’s DNA to play like that. They want to keep hold of the ball and use it.

‘I’m hoping that Scott Robertson’s mind-set will be that he wants his team to play what is in front of them – rather than playing robotically. We’ve been too defensive in our mind-set. If you lose a Test match with the All Blacks in your own country, you come under massive scrutiny and pressure. But Scott is a different type of character, and he won’t let these things worry him.’

Expectation is an unavoidable factor. Patience will be in short supply. ‘He will want to hit the ground running, but the public will want to see a performance, not just a win,’ added Marshall. ‘They won’t settle for a ground-out win. A win like that wouldn’t be accepted and would create massive debate in New Zealand.’

It is not a routine start to the Robertson era. The water sports enthusiast is going straight in at the deep end. Marshall and all of New Zealand will wait, anxiously, to see if this decorated Super man will manage to keep his head above the waves.

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2024-07-05T08:01:25Z dg43tfdfdgfd