Justin Marshall believes that Scott Robertson is handling the pressure of being All Blacks boss impressively, but that it will only become harder after their latest losses.

The 50-year-old succeeded Ian Foster following the 2023 Rugby World Cup and was a popular appointment, but it has been a mixed start.

Despite emerging victorious over England in their two-Test series, the performances were not convincing.

New Zealand then beat Fiji before succumbing to their first defeat under Robertson when they were stunned by Argentina.

Springboks increase pressure

Although the All Blacks responded with their best display of the new era by thrashing Los Pumas at Eden Park, they were not able to build on that in South Africa.

Robertson’s men were very much in both contests against the Springboks, but ultimately the world champions prevailed to end New Zealand’s Rugby Championship title chances.

The head coach’s record currently stands at three losses in seven, which has inevitably attracted criticism, but patience is required from supporters at this stage.

It is a job which can be too big for some people but, according to Marshall, Robertson is taking it in his stride.

“He’s not locked himself in his room and overstressing about tactics, and overstressing about game plan, he’s still able to be himself; get out and have a surf, go out for a beer and have a coffee in the morning,” he said on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby ANZ podcast.

“In terms of pressure, that tells me he’s handling it okay at the moment.”

The former All Blacks scrum-half did provide a warning to Robertson, however, stating that the scenario is now different for the head coach.

“The problem is, the more Test matches you lose as All Blacks coach, the more that pressure doesn’t go away, and it basically gives you more baggage,” he said.

“I spoke to him before the game in Johannesburg, I spoke to him before the game in Cape Town and in both instances he felt good about their prep, he felt good about their game plan and he said: ‘mate, we’re ready to play.’

“Now it’s different. He’s got a different couple of weeks facing him. He’s got to re-evaluate where they’ve just lost four Test matches on the bounce to the Springboks, and one against Argentina.”

Righting the wrongs

New Zealand were not far away in their games with the Springboks but those losses mean that successive victories over the Wallabies is a must for Robertson.

After that, they head on their northern hemisphere tour which sees them face Japan, England, Ireland, France and Italy.

“He’s got two Bledisloes coming up, which is a trophy he certainly won’t want to be losing, and then that much talked about end-of-year tour,” Marshall added.

“I think he’s still in a good head space at the moment but that doesn’t mean things are going to get any easier and the pressure is going to dissipate, it’s only going to increase.”

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Great Wallabies hooker loses his mind over Cheslin Kolbe skill which ‘sh*t on my entire career’

Former Australia front-row Jeremy Paul has claimed that Cheslin Kolbe is “the best player in the world” after the Springboks flyer showed off his multi-faceted skill set in Cape Town.

The speedster is renowned for his pace, footwork and balance, while he is also adept at the basics required for a wing at Test level, but he added another string to his bow at the weekend.

For one lineout during South Africa’s clash with the All Blacks, Kolbe remarkably acted as the thrower, briefly taking over from Malcolm Marx.

Perfect execution

What’s more, his accuracy was pinpoint and Paul, who earned 72 caps for the Wallabies, marvelled at the brilliance of the 30-year-old when speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby ANZ podcast.

“That Kolbe, man. He threw the f*****g ball in, he threw the f*****g ball in. Oh my god, shut up!” he said.

All Blacks

great Justin Marshall was also on the panel and couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing when Kolbe took the ball off Marx.

“I said in the commentary: ‘That’s Cheslin Kolbe!’ Malcolm Marx went to the front of the lineout and I went: ‘What the hell are they doing here?’ And it was a good throw JP, you would have been proud,” Marshall said.

Paul responded: “It was a cracker. I was like, ‘stop it!’ Mate, you just pretty much sh*t on my entire career”, before then making a bold claim about the wing.

“I’m going to say it, he’s the best player in the world today,” the ex-Wallabies hooker added.

Marshall agreed with that sentiment, putting him up there with France’s outstanding playmaker Antoine Dupont, who won Olympic gold in the summer to go alongside his achievements in XVs.

Kolbe or Dupont

The former New Zealand scrum-half initially said that he thinks Kolbe is “the most exciting player”, before pausing and then mentioning the great Dupont.

However, the 51-year-old was effusive with his praise for the Springbok after watching him during their 18-12 triumph over the All Blacks on Saturday.