Sam Whitelock was full of praise for his coach after the Crusaders claimed a third-straight Super Rugby title last night - "left-field ideas" and all.
Whitelock told reporters after the Crusaders' 19-3 win over the Jaguares in Christchurch, Robertson has helped develop a strong culture within the team that goes beyond 80 minutes of footy every week.
"He's challenged people to get better and to grow," Whitelock said.
"Everyone's done that whether you've been here for a couple of months or 150-plus games.
"He has the ability to grow players but also grow the coaching and management staff too. We've got an amazing set-up."
Whitelock added there was also the ability to challenge Robertson at times - especially on some of his stranger gameplans.
"[He] comes with a few left-field ideas.
"[Robertson] is prepared to have a go at a few of those different ideas and we thrash them about - some of them we don't take on board but some them we do.
"It's exciting. You get to training, you don't really know what you're going to get sometimes.
"It's a normalish day and then sometimes it's like, 'where did that come from?' but it's awesome. It keeps us on our toes."
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