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'I hear it and I like it' | Robertson at Leinster is exciting, but unlikely | Brian O'Driscoll

The prospect of Scott Robertson coaching alongside Leo Cullen at Leinster excites Brian O'Driscoll, however the Irish legend does not see it happening any time soon.
Stephen Kisbey-Green
Stephen Kisbey-Green

19.15 8 Dec 2022


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'I hear it and I like it' | Ro...

'I hear it and I like it' | Robertson at Leinster is exciting, but unlikely | Brian O'Driscoll

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Stephen Kisbey-Green
Stephen Kisbey-Green

19.15 8 Dec 2022


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The prospect of Scott Robertson coaching alongside Leo Cullen at Leinster excites Brian O'Driscoll, however the Irish legend does not see it happening any time soon.

After the shake-up in Wales and England this past week, there has been much speculation on the future of the games' best coaches worldwide.

England head coach Eddie Jones as well as Wales' Wayne Pivac were both removed from their positions following lacklustre November international windows.

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The vacant England job in particular quickly got the rumour-mill turning, as Ronan O'Gara, Steve Borthwick and the Crusaders' Scott Robertson were all immediately linked with the role.

As it is, Leicester Tigers are likely to be in search of a new head coach as Borthwick has been approached by the RFU to take over.

While O'Gara had already ruled himself out of the England role by taking a contract extension at La Rochelle, the Robertson rumours shifted from England to filling in for the outgoing Stuart Lancaster at Leinster.

'I hear it and I like it'

While Leinster and Ireland legend Brian O'Driscoll had not heard the particular link between Robertson and Leinster, he did seem to be in favour of the move. Speaking onĀ Off The Ball, O'Driscoll speculated on the speculation.

"It's new to me," O'Driscoll said. "I hear it and I like it. Who knows what's going to happen with someone like Leo [Cullen]?

"He is working off something like rolling one-year contracts as far as I know. I haven't spokenĀ  to him. Leo is pretty coy about divulging things as well.

"He may not necessarily know himself what his plans are, but with losing Stuart [Lancaster], will he feel that he needs to prove the fact that there's a lot more with him being able to develop a relationship with somebody else?

"He's obviously been a huge part of bringing that group of players forward. If he tagged someone else into a coaching capacity, is Robertson going to do that and be a head coach under a Director of Rugby?"

Robertson wants a World Cup

While he would like to see Cullen and Robertson link up in Dublin, O'Driscoll believes that Robertson has far greater ambitions in mind for his immediate future.

"I think Robertson wants an international gig," O'Driscoll said. "He's not leaving the Crusaders, he's not leaving a good thing to come to another club side, I don't think.

"He talked about winning the World Cup, not with one team, but with two teams. That's pretty big talk. You've got to try and find a team that's capable of winning the World Cup first and foremost.

"He was over [In England] for that BaaBaas game against the All Blacks, did he talk to the powers that be [within the RFU]? You'd have to imagine there was a conversation had, future proofing what his coaching regime might look like in years to come.

"It's exciting. All this speculation is great, right?"

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