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All Blacks-bound Robertson ends Crusaders era with final breakdance / Photo: © AFP
All Blacks-bound Robertson ends Crusaders era with final breakdance
All Blacks-bound Scott Robertson signed off as head coach of the Canterbury Crusaders on Saturday by breakdancing again after his side won a seventh straight Super Rugby title.
Crusaders hooker Codie Taylor grabbed his second try of the final before Richie Mo'unga landed a late penalty to seal a 25-20 comeback win at the Waikato Chiefs.
The 48-year-old Robertson will succeed Ian Foster as All Blacks coach after the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in September.
As he has done after each title he has won with the Crusaders since 2017, Robertson celebrated in Hamilton by breakdancing on the pitch, adding a jig at the end with his wife Jane.
"It's a special group," Robertson said of his Crusaders squad prior to busting some moves.
"I think there were five guys on the pitch who (won) it in 2017, I'm the only one left on the coaching staff."
Alongside Robertson, lock Sam Whitelock, Mo'unga and Leicester Fainga'anuku played their final games for the Crusaders having signed for overseas clubs.
"The team has reinvented itself a few times, there have been some key players, like Richie, who stood up," Robertson added.
The Chiefs, who finished the regular season top of the table and beat the Crusaders twice along the way, made Robertson's side work for the title.
"I'm just really proud," he added.
"We kept pushing them back on defence.
"We didn't really play good footy, but we found a way."
Robertson started his breakdancing tradition after leading Canterbury to the provincial cup title back in 2013.
He strutted his stuff again when he coached New Zealand Under-20s to the 2015 World Championship title.
He took to the turf with a series of flips and spins after his first Super Rugby title in his debut season with the Crusaders following the 2017 final, when they beat South African side the Lions in Johannesburg.
His breakdancing has become a regular part of Crusaders' celebrations, but may continue with the All Blacks.
When he was named New Zealand coach in March, Robertson was asked if he would celebrate winning silverware with the All Blacks by breakdancing.
New Zealand Rugby's chairperson Dame Patsy Reddy gave her blessing -- with one condition.
"Only when he wins the World Cup," Reddy joked, to which Robertson quipped back: "Every four years is okay for me".
A. Walsh--BTZ
