Ireland vs New Zealand: All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson looks forward to ’emotional’ reunion with Ards RFC host family

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

After tagging along with Ard’s 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 big chance for me,” he said.

“It brought a lot of belief in how I could play. When I went 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 bit, get away from mum’s dinners, take care of myself and I made some really good friends. It was a great time in my life.”

If Robertson learned a lot during that season with the Ards, the past 12 months have also proved instructive. For all his previous successes with the Crusaders in Super Rugby, coaching any international side, but especially the All Blacks, was always going to be a different proposition.

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

“You have to be pretty confident, stay the course as a person, understand your tight-knit 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 it until you do it. You learn most of the time by doing things. I learn.”

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

“I think it’s a great narrative, a great story,” Robertson added.

“It’s a fantastic story. Two countries that are similar in many ways, small island next to a big island.

“We enjoy each other’s company, but there’s a fierce rivalry on the field, a lot of respect (between) two smart teams going at it.

“That’s a big part of the story, that little bit of history recently. They’ve had a little bit of success in our backyard and we’ve had some as well.”