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Speaker 1: Afternoon. In something of a shock, Razor's sidekick has already

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Speaker 1: quit the All Blacks coaching lineup. Assistant coach Leon McDonald

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Speaker 1: has resigned after disagreements with head coach Scott Raiser Robertson.

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Speaker 1: New Zealand Rugby Head of Professional Rugby Chris Lendrom says

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Speaker 1: it was a mutual decision.

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Speaker 2: This was not plan a Obviously, everybody went into the

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Speaker 2: planning phase for the All Blacks pretty aligned on where

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Speaker 2: we wanted to go and what we wanted to do.

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Speaker 2: But just over the past few weeks as they've been

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Speaker 2: preparing for games, you know, that's just become a bit

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Speaker 2: clearer that, as I say, they're not quite aligned.

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Speaker 1: Elliot Smith's newstalk z'b's Rugby at it in is with

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Speaker 1: us now, Elliot, Hello, give us the hot goss. Did

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Speaker 1: you really quit or was he pushed?

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Speaker 3: Oh? Look, I think they've come to a mutual decision

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Speaker 3: that it's not working, and so whether it was pushed

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Speaker 3: or jumped or walked, I think they've come to the

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Speaker 3: decision that it's just simply not working. They need to

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Speaker 3: part ways. So I think they would have come to

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Speaker 3: it here. I think it's probably the right decision that

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Speaker 3: they're not dragging it out for too much longer. It's

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Speaker 3: Scott Robinson's team, so ultimately he would have made this decision.

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Speaker 3: If he wanted Leon to stay, he would have gone, noy, mate,

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Speaker 3: we can wok this out. We can figure it out.

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Speaker 3: Leon's gone and gone. Actually this isn't working. So I

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Speaker 3: think there's definitely you know, it's Scott Robinson's team. He

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Speaker 3: wants to imprint the way he wants to coach on

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Speaker 3: this team. It would have ultimately been his decision.

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Speaker 1: I mean, they're about to head off to South Africa

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Speaker 1: those are Berg matches. Has something happened just now as

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Speaker 1: has been brought.

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Speaker 3: It sounds like I've been browing over the last five

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Speaker 3: games that they've played. I mean, you know, Scott Robinson

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Speaker 3: only been in charge for five games. They would have

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Speaker 3: had meetings during Super Rugby. But ultimately it's once you

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Speaker 3: get in camp and the rubber hits the road and

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Speaker 3: you begin to coach that you figure out a lot

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Speaker 3: more about these things. Remembering that you know, Scott Robinson

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Speaker 3: picked Leo McDonald to be part of it wasn't like

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Speaker 3: he was thrust upon him and Scott Robertson wanted him

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Speaker 3: in twenty nineteen when he interviewed for the job as well.

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Speaker 3: But you know, things change. Scott Robinson had Leo McDonald

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Speaker 3: as an assistant at the Crusaders in twenty seventeen. Leon

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Speaker 3: left after that and then decided to go to the Blues,

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Speaker 3: where he was going to be an assistant originally then

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Speaker 3: top on the head coaching job, and that, you know,

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Speaker 3: changes things. It's not the assistant that Leon was in

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Speaker 3: twenty seventeen, but ventually Leon's been used to being the

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Speaker 3: head coach oncho and now I.

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Speaker 1: Think that's at the heart of it is that last

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Speaker 1: time they worked together it was very clearly head coach

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Speaker 1: assistant coach, and since then it's actually two head coaches.

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Speaker 3: I think so. And look, this is Scott Robertson's team

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Speaker 3: and the Lion McDonald's developed the only way, the way

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Speaker 3: that he wants to go about things that the Blues

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Speaker 3: and will be used to doing the way that he

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Speaker 3: coaches a team. I think obviously there's some fundamental differences

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Speaker 3: between the way they want to prepare for games, the

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Speaker 3: attacking strategy that ultimately Scott Robertson wants to get out

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Speaker 3: of Leo mcdonalk.

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Speaker 1: Right, So four year contract, what does he get paid

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Speaker 1: out two years?

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Speaker 3: There's probably a clause in there somewhere saying if X

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Speaker 3: y Z isn't working out, you probably get half of it.

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Speaker 3: I would guess, do you.

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Speaker 1: Reckon he's on big money? Because I remember Fozzy was

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Speaker 1: on massive money as he.

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Speaker 3: I'm not sure about an assistant. I'd say it's reasonable money.

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Speaker 3: I'm sure Scott Robinson's on decent, decent coin, but yeah,

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Speaker 3: I'm not sure what kind of money Donald beyond.

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Speaker 1: Okay, So the real test is going to be how

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Speaker 1: they perform against the spring Bucks. And this is now

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Speaker 1: on Raizer, right, this is all him. Now he's going

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Speaker 1: to have.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, the decision's been made. And look they've moved to

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Speaker 3: a couple other coaches to take on Leo McDonald's portfolio

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Speaker 3: for the time being. But they've made the decision. Do

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Speaker 3: you drag it out for two more weeks and go

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Speaker 3: let's see if South Africa going on tour makes things work.

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Speaker 3: We can you know, get away from everything the media

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Speaker 3: in New Zealand, et cetera, and then you get a

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Speaker 3: result there.

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Speaker 1: What I mean is they going to have to get

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Speaker 1: results in South Africa. Otherwise everybody's going to wonder whether

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Speaker 1: actually Leon.

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Speaker 3: Was the right Yeah, quite possibly. But how long do

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Speaker 3: you drag it out for if it's clearly not working

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Speaker 3: and you know you've come to that conclusion within five

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Speaker 3: test matches. It's not like it's after eighteen months or whatever.

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Speaker 3: It's five test matches. You do you give it two weeks?

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Speaker 3: Do you go to marriage counseling or do you just

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Speaker 3: give it? Get the divorce now and get the the payout.

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Speaker 1: No, no, just get the don't even don't even get married.

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Speaker 1: Just make sure, don't even sign the prenup. Elliett, thank

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Speaker 1: you very much, appreciate it, mate, You're awesome. That's Elliot Smith,

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Speaker 1: Newstalksb's Rugby editor.

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Speaker 2: For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to

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Speaker 2: news Talks.

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