Get-out clause sparks interest in Robertson

Premiership clubs and the RFU have been put on red alert after being tipped off that Crusaders coach Scott Robertson has got a get-out clause in his NZRU contract.

The highly rated coach was on Harlequins radar when Paul Gustard left the club and was also mentioned as a possible Eddie Jones successor in 2021.

It has now been revealed that the 47-year-old re-signed with the Crusaders until 2024 last August but had an escape clause inserted into it.

Robertson, a former back rower who won 22 caps for the All Blacks and played for Canterbury, Bay of Plenty, Perpignan, and Ricoh Black Rams, can walk away at the end of next year.

He started his coaching career at Canterbury as an assistant in 2008 before taking the top job five years later and then the New Zealand U20 side.

Robertson has been in charge of the Crusaders since 2017 and has been touted as a possible replacement for Ian Foster if the All Blacks sack him.

Foster is on a sticky wicket following the All Blacks series defeat to Ireland, and there have already been calls for Robertson to be given the job.

He has been mentioned as a possible successor to Jones after the World Cup, even though Blindside believes the front runner is still Steve Borthwick.

But that would leave a vacancy at Welford Road that would need to be filled, and any high calibre coach would have to be considered.