Robertson 'emotional' before reunion with NI family

Scott Robertson spent a year in Northern Ireland as a teenager

New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson said his time in Northern Ireland "helped shape" him as a person.

Robertson, who will lead the All Blacks against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night, spent one season playing for Ards RFC in county Down as a teenager in 1993-94.

The 50-year-old, who did win one of his 23 Test caps in Dublin, will be coaching against Ireland for the first time since taking over the All Blacks job from Ian Foster after the 2023 World Cup.

"A bit emotional, actually," he said of coming back as head coach of his native country.

"There's a family, the Herons, that I lived with when I was a young fella and came over here and played a bit of footy.

"It was a great moment for me growing up and now [to have] the chance to publicly thank them for what they did. 

"They helped shape me, it was a great time in my life. It'll be great to see them."

Robertson said his time in Newtownards was important for his maturation as a player and person, but also in imprinting upon him the need to pursue education alongside his rugby career.

After tagging along with Ards team-mates to lectures at Queen's University Belfast, a stipulation in Robertson's first Crusaders playing contract was that they would pay for his degree from Lincoln University.

"It was a great chance for me," he said.

"It brought a lot of belief in how I could play. Going home, it really set me off to make sure I could get an education and that I wanted to play rugby at the highest level.

"It gave me a lot of confidence. It helped me grow up a little bit, get away from mum's dinners, look after myself and I made some really good friends. It was a great time in my life."

If Robertson learned plenty during that season with Ards, the last 12 months have proven to be educational too. Despite all his previous successes with Crusaders in Super Rugby, coaching any international side, but especially the All Blacks, will always be a different proposition.

He admitted that "nothing really prepares you" for the top job with the three-time World Cup winners.

"You've got to be pretty confident, keep the course as a person, understand your tight, inner circle," he said.

"That's the biggest one where I stand. Who do you listen to? Who can be really objective? But that comes as part of the job.

"Nothing really prepares you for that until you do it. You learn the majority of the time by doing stuff. I'm learning."

Between Robertson's own playing days and the current era, the relationship between Ireland and New Zealand has changed demonstrably. Friday night's hosts failed to beat the All Blacks across the first 111-years of fixtures played by the pair but have now won five of the last 10 meetings, including an away series victory in 2022.

"I think it is a great narrative, a great story," Robertson added.

"It's a great narrative. Two countries that are similar in lots of ways, small island off a big island.

"We enjoy each other's company, but there is a fierce rivalry on the field, a lot of respect [between] two smart teams that go at it.

"That is a big part of the storyline, that little bit of history recently. They've had a bit of success in our backyard and we've had some as well."