All Blacks fans uncertain as the Robertson era begins, England confident ahead of 1st test

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — After waiting almost 17 months, New Zealanders will finally get to see what All Blacks rugby looks like under new head coach Scott Robertson when New Zealand takes on England in the first of two tests at Dunedin on Saturday.

Robertson was appointed in March of last year to succeed Ian Foster as head coach but had to wait until after the 2023 World Cup final in October — in which New Zealand lost by one point to South Africa — to take up his post.

During his long regency, Robertson has had time to deeply consider how he will go about things and on Thursday he unveiled his first All Blacks team to give early notice of his intentions. He has come up with a form selection, showing no special allegiance to the Christchurch-based Crusaders who he led to seven Super Rugby titles.

Through that period in which the Crusaders dominated domestic rugby, fans had a chance to assess how Robertson operates as a coach, how teams under him play, what might be his style.

His laid back demeanor hides an astute rugby brain and competitive nature. He may not be an outstanding technical coach but he has the ability to assemble and use assistants with technical skills. His talent is to empower players individually to develop their own talents and teams to work exceptionally well in concert.

“You’ve got to enjoy it. That’s one thing I’ve been able to do throughout my career,” Robertson said. “You’ve got to be able to enjoy the energy that’s created with the people and with Kiwis getting behind it."

This weekend the venue is in New Zealand's south island.

“It’s Dunedin, the bottom of the south (island), the bottom of the world really in test terms," he said. "You’ve got to enjoy it.”

There is considerable anticipation and apprehension among All Blacks fans over Saturday’s match, an uncertainty over what a new era might hold. But one thing is certain, Robertson knows how to win; his teams are flexible, adaptive and able to find a way in the most difficult circumstances.

England is becoming a very strong and skillful side under head coach Steve Borthwick, who also is at an early stage of his career in charge of an international team. Borthwick also has learned the knack of bringing the best out of players and England has been on a steady upward curve under his guidance.

England has been unashamedly confident about its prospects on Saturday while New Zealanders have been diffident. Captain Jamie George says England is ready to beat the All Blacks in New Zealand for the first time in 21 years, based on their most recent results against the All Blacks — a win and a draw — and the example of the 2017 British and Irish Lions who drew their three-test series in New Zealand.

“The message then was that by the end of that series they are going to know who we are. That is certainly the message again from me and this England team,” George said. “Walk towards it, embrace it, love it. What an amazing opportunity we have got here. It was 2003 the last time England won here.

“We were at a charity dinner before we left and they were asking Steve Borthwick about being on that tour. I said to the boys: ‘We’ve got an opportunity to do something really special so that in 20 years’ time they are going to be asking us about the victory.’”

England drew with New Zealand when the teams last met at Twickenham in 2022 and beat the All Blacks in the semifinals of the 2019 World Cup, matches from which George draws inspiration. Most recently, England beat Japan 52-13 in Tokyo.

"We’re as well prepared as we ever have been in terms of trying to make players who haven’t played against New Zealand aware of what it’s about,” George said. “Looking back to 2019 that’s one of the best games I’ve ever been a part of.

“Sometimes with special occasions like that it allows you to go to a place you never thought you were capable of going. We’re going to need to go to some dark places to get a win in Dunedin.”

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Japan’s Yoshitaka Yazaki, left, defenses during the first half of a rugby test match against England in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

England's team members leave after they beat Japan at a rugby test match in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan’s Michael Leitch, top, vies for the ball during the last half of a rugby test match against England in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, June 22, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

All Blacks fans uncertain as the Robertson era begins, England confident ahead of 1st test

All Blacks fans uncertain as the Robertson era begins, England confident ahead of 1st test

FILE- New Zealand's Scott Barrett takes the ball in a line out during the Rugby World Cup final match between New Zealand and South Africa at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, Oct. 28, 2023. New All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has chosen Scott Barrett as his first captain, to lead a 32-man squad he named Monday in tests against England and Fiji. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks fell while European markets were higher Monday after France's elections left its legislature divided among left, center and far right, with no single political faction getting close to a majority.

The CAC-40 index of large companies has erased the losses in early trading and was 0.8% higher to 7,735.17.

The markets worst fear, analysts say, was a majority for either the left-wing New Front National or for the anti-immigrant National Rally led by Marine Le Pen. Both parties have made spending promises that raised fears France’s already-large deficit would swell. That has already led to a sell-off in French government bonds.

Though that outcome was avoided, France now faces weeks of uncertainty since there’s no clear majority for any of the main political forces in parliament to support a new government after Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said he would resign. That raises the likelihood that any new government will find it difficult to pass legislation and make tough spending choices in order to keep the country’s debts and deficit from getting out of hand.

“That the left has become the strongest group in parliament raises serious concerns,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg bank. “France is heading for a period of political uncertainty and – most likely – for fiscal problems and some reversal of president Emmanuel Macron’s pro-growth reforms. ”

The euro currency rose to $1.0841 from $1.0836 Monday.

Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s DAX rose 0.7% to 18,598.84, and the FTSE 100 in London was up 0.2% at 8,217.77.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was down 0.3% to 40,780.70 despite official data showing the real wages fell 1.4% year on year in May, a decline for the 26th straight month as the weakening yen and higher commodity costs pushed up the cost of imports. While the nominal wages rose 1.9%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.6% to 17,524.06 and the Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.9% to 2,922.45.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 sank 0.8% to 7,763.20 while South Korea’s Kospi edged 0.2% lower to 2,857.76.

The future for the S&P 500 was down less than 0.1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher.

U.S. stocks had risen to more records Friday boosted by a highly anticipated report on the job market.

On Friday, the S&P 500 climbed 0.5% to 5,567.19, setting an all-time high for a third straight day following Thursday’s pause in trading for the Fourth of July holiday. The index has already set 34 records and climbed close to 17% this year, which is only a little more than halfway done.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 39,375.87, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.9% to 18,352.76.

The action was more decisive in the bond market, where Treasury yields sank following the U.S. jobs report. Employers hired more workers last month than economists expected, but the number was still a slowdown from May’s hiring. Plus, the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked higher, growth for workers’ wages slowed and the U.S. government said hiring in earlier months was lower than previously indicated.

Altogether, the data reinforced belief on Wall Street that the U.S. economy’s growth is slowing under the weight of high interest rates. That’s precisely what investors want to see, because a slowdown would keep a lid on inflation and could push the Federal Reserve to begin cutting its main interest rate from the highest level in two decades.

In other dealings Monday, U.S. benchmark crude oil gave up 64 cents, down to $82.52 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, declined 47 cents to $86.07 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 161.00 Japanese yen from 160.72 yen.

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm under the intense sun Monday, July 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People are reflected on the window of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm Monday, July 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm under the intense sun Monday, July 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei 225 index at a securities firm under the intense sun Monday, July 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

FILE - A person walks past at an electronic stock board showing financial indexes including Japan's Nikkei 225 index, green, at a securities firm in Tokyo, June 27, 2024. Asian shares were mostly lower on Friday, July 5, after solid gains in Europe overnight, while U.S. markets were closed for the July 4th holiday. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)

FILE - The New York Stock Exchange is seen on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in New York. Shares advanced Friday, July 5, 2024, in Europe after Britain's Labour Party prevailed over the Conservatives in this week's national election. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)