Three years ago, just 12 months out from a Rugby World Cup, Scott Robertson was so very nearly catapulted into the position as All Blacks coach. A dead man walking, Ian Foster survived only on the unwavering support of his senior players.
Now, with under two years to run to the next global showpiece, player power has seen Robertson dismissed just two years into a four-year contract. The irony is unmistakable.
While Thursday morning’s events have left the collective jaw of the global rugby community on the floor in the most stunning coaching overhaul since Eddie Jones replaced Dave Rennie as Wallabies coach, the signs that not all was well with All Blacks camp have been there for some time.
So when ESPN columnist Liam Napier reported for the New Zealand Herald that New Zealand Rugby’s year-end review of the All Blacks’ 2025 season, which brought about a 10-3 record, told of some damning feedback of the team’s culture under Robertson, it was clear the seven-time Super Rugby winning coach’s goose was cooked.
Already past the point of no return, a report suggesting 2024 World Rugby Player of the Year Ardie Savea was exploring options that did not involve his return to New Zealand were confirmation of just how bad things had become.
The expectation was always that Robertson would reproduce his incredible run with the Crusaders at the All Blacks. But in two years it never looked likely, and NZR deemed it too risky to hope that might still happen over the next 18 months.
At a glance, a 10-3 winning record is one just about every other leading rugby nation outside of South Africa would kill for; certainly, it is the stuff of wild dreams for the Wallabies.
But in a nation where rugby perfection is expected, almost demanded, Robertson’s progress, or lack thereof, left his position vulnerable.
And that is before you consider the nature of their three defeats in 2025; away to Argentina, their worst ever defeat in a crushing home loss to South Africa, and then on the road against England at Twickenham; all of which gave little indication a Robertson-coached All Blacks were a team to be feared in Australia in two years’ time.
They were also far from convincing in two of their three wins over France, and had it not been for some rudimentary Wallabies ill-discipline, amplified by several dubious refereeing calls, then New Zealand’s long-standing Eden Park unbeaten run may have been condemned to history.
These were not the performances New Zealand expects of the All Blacks.
From an inconsistent attack, a severe issue under the high ball, and a failure to finish games off, Robertson was simply unable to find the crucial fixes he needed to convince not only the NZR board, but also the country’s passionate fans, that he was capable of righting the All Blacks’ course by October 1 next year.
And it’s clear that those most important to that cause, his players, had already made up their mind, too.
And when Foster was able to introduce assistants Joe Schmidt and Jason Ryan, which helped reverse the All Blacks’ fortunes to the point where they fell just a solitary point short of the Springboks in the 2013 RWC final, Robertson’s coaching adjustments, which have included the departures of Leon MacDonald and Jason Holland, did not.
An untenable working relationship with MacDonald in 2024 now casts an even darker shadow over the All Blacks’ deterioration under Robertson.
For a while now it appeared as though Robertson was relying on a rugby hail mary, the return of his “quarterback” Richie Mo’unga from Japan, to help correct New Zealand’s course. Instead, Mo’unga will now rejoin the All Blacks setup under the stewardship of a new coach.
That could well be Jamie Joseph, the current coach of the Highlanders, who famously oversaw Japan’s wins over both Scotland and Ireland at the 2019 World Cup. Joseph has an intimate understanding of New Zealand rugby, and is incredibly well regarded both at home and abroad.
Outgoing Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt should also not be dismissed, even if he told reporters in Sydney he was “not looking to be involved with either side” at December’s World Cup pool unveiling.
But, with the ruthlessness that Foster was spared in 2023, NZR moved on Robertson and suddenly no potential coaching appointment can be disregarded.
Ultimately, Razor’s All Blacks were blunt. The tongues of his players, however? Sharp.
