Autumn Nations Series: Ireland v New Zealand
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin Date: Friday, 8 November Kick-off: 20:10 GMT
Coverage: Listen to live commentary on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Sounds, and follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.
Before he became one of the most recognised coaches in world rugby and prior to the famous breakdancing celebrations, the All Blacks caps or the ‘Razor’ moniker, Scott Robertson was just a teenager in his native New Zealand longing to see more of the world.
It was that desire that 31 years ago brought him to the unlikely surroundings of Ards RFC’s Hamilton Park in Northern Ireland.
A little more than 100 miles from where he will sit on Friday night to watch his All Blacks side against Ireland in the Aviva Stadium, Robertson remains a “favourite topic of conversation” for the Greyabbey family that put him up for his nine-month stay in Ireland.
“We were on holiday in New Zealand and stayed with a guy who’d come over on a teacher exchange to Bangor Grammar,” explains David Heron, who was then president at Ards RFC and remains a member.
“He said to us that there was a lad at the school that he was working in who’d love to come and play rugby in Ireland. We went to meet his parents and found he was dead keen, so we made arrangements for him to stay with us.
“The only problem was getting Scott registered, because at that time Ards were playing in the All-Ireland League, but I thought that shouldn’t be a problem.”
As it happened that was a bigger issue than anticipated, the unexpected red tape meaning that in terms of competitive fixtures the future All Black was only able to represent the club’s 2nd XV.
“It was obvious he was going to be a good player,” remembers former Ards team-mate Neil Workman, now honorary secretary at the club.
“We were just absolutely heartbroken that we couldn’t get him in the All-Ireland League squad even though he was just 18. It was obvious, even at that age, that he was a clinker of a player.
“He tackled like an Exocet. Everyone was just so impressed by how aggressive he was.”
Indeed, one game in particular has gone down in the club’s lore.
“We were playing Bangor in a friendly and they had a southern hemisphere player too,” adds Workman.
“To Scott, it was a challenge that he was going to top dog that man. He absolutely piled into him at every opportunity, emptied him.
“Everyone just went ‘wow’. I was talking to one of the Ards boys recently who has emigrated to Australia and that has always been his abiding memory too.”
Without employment or even a driving licence during his stay, Heron sorted Robertson with a job on a building site with his son-in-law and arranged lifts from the family home to Ards’ training with team-mates going in the same direction.
It was soon noticed that the return trips were taking considerably longer than the the outward journeys.
“He loved the social side,” says Workman of regular post-training debriefs.
“We introduced him to Guinness, which is something he took back to New Zealand with him. With his blond hair, blue eyes and surfer’s demeanour, he was the ultimate wingman around the pubs of Newtownards and Bangor.
“He sent us a lovely video for the club’s 90th anniversary where he said the majority of his memories were nights on the Guinness and namechecked various people including myself for nearly ruining his rugby physique forever.
“I was chuffed to know I was nearly responsible for stopping his career before it started.”
‘Who do we support?’
When flying back home after his spell with Ards, Robertson had written to his mother in New Zealand to say when he returned to Ireland it would be as an All Black.
If that seemed fanciful at the time, the back rower was true to his word, debuting for his country in 1998 and, three years later, lining up against Ireland in a Test match that marked the debut of Richie McCaw. During that trip, he made time for a visit to the Heron home and has stayed in contact since.
Whether it be making out a rehab schedule for the family’s son Steven after a knee injury playing rugby or, years later, regularly checking in with their late daughter Gillian during her treatment for cancer, Heron believes Robertson has long displayed the “special attributes” that have allowed him to ascend to one of the most coveted jobs in the sport.
From his playing days, through Super Rugby successes when coaching the Crusaders and now leading the man in charge of the All Blacks, the family and those at Ards RFC have watched his rise in the game with pride from the other side of the world.
“It’s been great for us all to say we played on the same pitch as Razor Robertson,” adds Workman.
“To see him coaching is fantastic. We’re very proud to have that association. We’ve a history at the club of international back-row players with Nigel Carr and Phillip Matthews and to say that he played for Ards has been a fantastic honour.
“We’ve all watched his career with interest and been very proud that Ards was a bit of an education for him.”
Some have managed to secure tickets for Friday’s big game and are hoping to meet up with Robertson afterwards, although Heron notes they will face an unusual dilemma during the preceding 80 minutes.
“The only problem in the family’s position is who do we support? Ireland or Scotty
