"Thursday afternoon, and the All Blacks are out on the training ground around the back of the Lensbury hotel on the banks of the Thames, it's a warm autumn day, and the mood is pretty free and easy, Will Jordan is practising catching high balls, Beauden Barrett is taking shots at goal, the forwards are packing up after running some drills, head coach, Scott Robertson, is chatting happily with the media before his press conference."
"His predecessor, Ian Foster, is the surly son of a Presbyterian minister, who got the job because he was the assistant to his predecessor Steve Hansen, who was a former policeman, who got the job because he was assistant to his predecessor Graham Henry, who was a former headmaster. For two decades, there was a continuity of character, and a deliberately consistent team culture."
An autumn training session by the Thames shows a relaxed All Blacks squad with players practising high balls, goal kicking and finishing drills while head coach Scott Robertson chats amiably with media. Robertson downplays making a big statement against England, insisting the team is focused simply on getting a result. The team’s culture has changed from two decades of stern, authoritative leadership and expected statement performances to a more informal, personable approach under Robertson. Coaching lineage from Graham Henry to Steve Hansen to Ian Foster created continuity; Robertson’s appointment after the World Cup marks a clear break as New Zealand faces being second-best to South Africa.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]