This compelling Rugby Championship barely needs more spice, but on the cusp of back-to-back Bledisloe Cup clashes, it’s got a sprinkling in the form of the recent history between Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and All Blacks coach Scott Robertson.
Schmidt doesn’t play games in the media and avoids playing the man, but he is quoted in former All Blacks coach Ian Foster’s book Leading Under Pressure in a way that shows a degree of disdain for Robertson’s conduct before the Rugby World Cup.
“A big part of it was about integrity,” Schmidt is quoted as saying. “The pressure that was being exerted was contributed to by not just New Zealand Rugby, but people aiming up at ‘Fozzie’ [Foster].
“There was a podcast – with Jim Hamilton and Scott Robertson. That’s in the public domain. That was a pres