There’s the breakdancing celebrations and the self-confessed whacky ideas, but Crusaders coach Scott Robertson’s greatest strength might be his ability to emotionally connect with his players.
Robertson let some of that emotion slip following the 19-3 win over Jaguares as he reflected on becoming the first coach to lead a team to a three-peat of championships, a feat he also achieved as a player with the Crusaders.
“I did it (three-peat) as a player too, so to do it as a player and a coach is special, I get a bit emotional talking about it,” Robertson said after being asked about his place among the Crusaders’ coaching greats.
Robertson regained his composure before going on to thank his players for their support.
“I’ve got a championship winning team here, I’m not going to say that I haven’t, I got a great group of guys, a lot of All Blacks, I’ve got a lot of guys that are world class,” he said.
“My role is to get the best out of the group and carry this on as long as we can, it’s a chance for me to thank them publicly for supporting me, sometimes things get a little bit whacky, a little bit different, but they stay with me and enjoy the ride.”
The Crusaders coach revealed how he incorporated emotional triggers into his coaching to give every game significance for each player.
“So for example for a Matt Todd, his wife Anna and his kids and his parents are such a big part of himself and the reason why he plays, so we have to integrate them.
“When he’s running his last race as we’re calling it, when he’s running that they have to be a part of it, it becomes very special, very integrated with his families, Rugby Park is another home for us.”
Robertson was a relieved man that he was able to send the host of departing Crusaders greats including Kieran Read, Owen Franks, Ryan Crotty and Todd out as winners.
“The first (title of the three) I was just ecstatic, running onto the field like how good is this? The second (title) there was a little bit of relief, tonight was like, 'thank God for that'.
“Honestly, so many people leaving, there was a lot of emotion, thank God we can send them on the right note, so it was massive relief.”
SHARE ME