All Blacks coach Scott Robertson set to depart

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson is set to depart the role two years into the job.

The Herald understands an announcement will be made today that Robertson is finishing in his position.

It comes a day after the Herald reported a possible player revolt and a scathing end-of-year review.

Last December, the Herald revealed widespread internal frustrations from players and support staff following the All Blacks’ failed Grand Slam tour.

That feedback has now come through loud and clear in the All Blacks internal review, leaving New Zealand Rugby (NZR) hierarchy under serious pressure to deliver sweeping coaching changes.

The Herald understands the most critical feedback of the All Blacks coaching, culture and environment stems from senior players, with frustrations building throughout Scott Robertson’s two-year tenure.

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson at Cardiff ahead of last year's match against Wales. Photo / SmartFrame

Robertson and his leading assistant Scott Hansen are among those to receive critical feedback.

Issues have been evident on the field with the All Blacks displaying wild inconsistencies, third-quarter fades, struggling attack, high-ball vulnerabilities and defensive lapses.

Two assistant coaches, Leon MacDonald and Jason Holland, voluntarily departing in the past two years sparked red-flag concerns, too.

Robertson’s current contract runs through until the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Highlanders and All Blacks XV coach Jamie Joseph would be favourite to replace Robertson as head coach.

In Chicago, in October, NZR chair David Kirk told the Herald the All Black coaching unit was still “finding their feet a bit”.

Those comments came before the All Blacks’ victory against Ireland in the US city, and the loss against England on the UK leg of the tour.

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“They’ve played very well at times, and they haven’t played as well at times,” said Kirk. “They know that better than anyone else. It’s been a bit inconsistent, and I know that the coaching group is not happy with that. The players aren’t happy with that.

“We are looking for, and New Zealand is looking for, increasing consistency, improving consistency from the team.”

Razor’s gone alright!!

Rumour is that Jamie Joseph is to take over. A further rumour to get Boks fans buzzing is that apparently Tony Brown has an “out” clause in his Boks contract if Jamie gets the top job!!

Tony would go from being the 2nd most popular bloke in SA to the most hated…..

After that loss in Wellington this was the only course of action. Losing to England was the confirmation.

Razor despite his lofty reputation was pretty much clueless. The team had deteriorated markedly since the WC final where they were very competitive,

Moz, we will need a Rassie type miracle to be competitive at the next RWC.

Looks almost certain the Boks will lose Tony Brown. It is a double whammy, as the All Blacks can get a better coaching team, while also weakening the Boks' coaching team.

New Zealand Rugby has reportedly paid a significant sum to secure Tony Brown's release from his contract with the South Africa Springboks, suggesting a clause or negotiation has allowed for his departure to potentially join the All Blacks coaching team under Jamie Joseph.

All Blacks Coaching Status

1. Scott Robertson was officially dismissed as the All Blacks head coach on January 15, 2026, two years into his four-year contract, after a disappointing 2025 season.
2. Jamie Joseph is the front-runner to replace Robertson and is expected to take over the top job, likely with Tony Brown as his assistant. He is currently the head coach of the All Blacks XV, a position many viewed as positioning him for the main role.

Tony Brown's Boks Contract

While specific contract language is not public, reports from January 2026 indicate that New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has managed to facilitate Brown's release, which would allow him to leave the Boks if an opportunity with the All Blacks arises.

1. Brown previously turned down offers from other potential All Blacks coaches in 2019 due to his loyalty to work alongside Jamie Joseph.
2. He joined the Springboks as an attack coach in early 2024, a move that surprised many in New Zealand, but he has been highly successful in the role.
3. The fact that NZR has reportedly "paid big money" to release him suggests a mutual agreement with South Africa Rugby, rather than a unilateral "veto" clause, though an exit mechanism was clearly available and utilized.

In short, it appears highly likely that the long-standing coaching partnership of Joseph and Brown will be reunited with the All Blacks

A miracle or a good scrumming coach Moolaa.

I do think the All Blacks' performance is not just coaching-related. The backline is good as usual, and the Loose forwards are solid. However, the tight five stocks are not, the worst in the professional era of the All Blacks.

If there is any miracle, it needs to be some new tight 5 players.

The All Black backline tries to run from deep, but they often get pushed out with a rush defence.

The high ball is a problem, but those are skills that players should have before even donning the All Black jersey.

The All Black centres are not the usual standard that can create space through offloads.

All Blacks will need to stop this nonsense of not selecting overseas based players as well. At this point that's a luxury they can't afford.

Mo’unga would help, Barrett and McKenzie haven’t exactly been convincing. And supposedly he’s available this year.

I think the All Blacks tight five is competitive enough to hang with the top teams. A couple of new players could strengthen the core though.

Having steady hands like Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown will do a world of good for player confidence and ability.

With Tony Brown leaving, who will take over as attack coach for the Boks?? In my opinion, we might see Jacques Nienaber come back sooner rather than later, and possibly a full return to that style of play.

Hopefully we also see further progress on Brown’s work through a Attack coach like Swys de Bruin.

According to Rugby 365 Robertson has been fired and mention was mad hat the final nail oin his coffin was a player revolt,

As to the wider issue there are fundamental problems - also financial - that is bedevilling NewZealand Rugby and only a coaching change ais not going to be the solution to the bsic problems,

The other issue raised centers around Brown - he is contracted with ARU until 2031 and a decision o his part to go back toc oaching in New Zealand may be gamble he would not take, At this stage it is basically media speculation as ti the replacement of Robertson and possibly Brown - but we will have to wait and see what is going to happen.

The guy has a 74% win record, none of our bok coaches came near him in their first two seasons. We would take that any day. It took Rassie 8 years to get to that mark.

He lost seven games. Probably because they were home defeats and by record margin to the boks. Not sure a new coach will solve it for them.

The problems that Richi, his go to flyhallf is in Japan and his entire game plan revolves around Richi. In a way I was glad that Richi was playing under Razor because I think we would have had a much harder time in trying to beat them.

However, they lost to the Bargies at home, but they also lost to them before he arrived.

NZ problem is that they still think that they are in their prime as a rugby nation but the top nations has caught up now, players are more professional and way more skilled.

Just look at how Ireland been playing with 5 of their very own rejected players. Louw, Gibson Park, Bundi to name a few. These guys would never made to become all blacks but yet the pop up in Ireland and beat the All Blacks.

Then, there is the arrogance believing that their players are superior but they were only this good because of the South Sea islander that gave them that special type of player. Now we see the best South Sea Islander pop up for France, England and Australia.

I don't think NZ understand the reality of rugby. Their local players are under cooked and lack exposure. Australia can't help them build experience as they are even weaker.

I can't speak for Razor but NZ rugby has become delusional

The worst part is listening to a player like Aride. He is an amazing individual player but I would never pick for his leadership capabilities. Kiwi players has become a bunch of wingers and I think their country and media don't help them because the live in a micro cosim

KC

New Zealand Rugby is in a serious mess financially entirely due to their kicking SA and Argentina out of Super Rugby and there is a lack of competitveness and player identification and developmnet as a result.

Another problem is that the AB's do not really have as vast a feedig system other countries have, That is aoprtly due to the Woke Culture that has deep support in New Zealand, That leads to reluntance to do hard work to develop phyicallity of players,

The latest habnge partly stemmed from a player revolt because absically NZ players are not selected if they play for foreign clubs - and even A rdie S aavea is fumng about that issue, Cancellation of tha restriction is hotting the players hard since it restricts potential player income.

The above are part of the reasons for decline ibn competitiveness of he AB's. Will replacing of the coach solve all the above problems? I do not think so.

Maybe our Kiwi mates can help us with this one cos talking to a friend of mine they said that participation levels at their local clubs at age group levels are plummeting and that more and more high school boys are drifting to basketball being their preferred sport.

Any truth in that?

They should have stuck with Razor.

This is just like Fergie and United. Nobody that you get will match that. On top of that you have a bunch players getting older. They should have taken all the pressure off of Razor and told him to take all the time he needs to build what he wants. He would have come good at the end.

Now, the last two years are a waste and there is every possibility that the next guy won't do any better. He won't match Hansen anyway.

My prediction is the same as what happened at United. The new coach will do okay initially, and then the sheen will come off and he'll be no better than Razor, and perhaps have a worse record.

Yeah, context is a thing, but they're ranked 2nd in the world right now.

Sacking your coach while you ranked so highly smacks of a dominance hangover.

Kiwis need to accept they are not number 1 anymore and won't be for a while. That's normal.

I think it's once they stop expecting to win everything that they'll turn the corner and start to trend upwards. And that's not just a changing to their team or system. The entire nation needs to come back down to reality. Eat the losses, suffer the embarrassments, and when you stop expecting to live on rep, then your fortunes will change.

"The guy has a 74% win record, none of our bok coaches came near him in their first two seasons. We would take that any day. It took Rassie 8 years to get to that mark."

NZ is falling from a much higher bar...we climbed out of a longdrop...can't compare.

The All Blacks will be back. Sooner than many think.

They are slightly off the pace...they're still the second best team in the world regardless of rankings...I don’t see any other team than us...and maybe Argentina beating them in NZ anytime soon...and Argentina can beat any team anywhere when they pitch up the day.

Seems the issue is with senior players like Ardie etc - had they not voiced their dissatisfaction with Razor, they might have stuck with him

I see Jamie Joseph is a favourite to take over and the rumour is that if he does he will want Tony Brown back with him

Will be interesting to see how that unfolds

NZ was ahead regards to player management for many years, central contracts, creating stronger squads in forming franchises and moving away from provincial and club rugby. SA being stuck in provincialism and Australia having Sunday club league. The rest of the world like France and the UK were also having to deal with clubs.

SA rugby was in disarray for many years with so many coaches coming and going and our provinces not being up to scratch or managing players.

I agree that the younger players seem to be dwindling and definitely woke culture that has steered them away from contact sport.

But this South Sea guys, they have big families and will chase the money rather than play for NZ, Charle Piatau showed the way and now France are dusting of their cheque book. I see this guy Mata pop up and amazing back. NZ would have snapped him up in the old days.

Yes, we had to get out of long drop, but with Rassie and Andrews they were able to stabilise us

All of us need to realise that the Boks are in for the same thing once Rassie goes.

Duane is probably being prepped to take over. That might comfort some, but...

Foster was Hansen's assistant coach for about 7 years. That's a good deal of continuity planning...and he wasn't able to adequately fill the seat after Hansen.

When a coach wins everything, I think it's just impossible to fill his shoes once he goes. But the fans are used to winning. And then they suddenly have to deal with not winning so much anymore. And that creates unfair and unnecessary pressure on the coach. The funny thing being that these very succesful coaches normally start out with worse records than the early records achieved the coaches that follow them...and yet they still get sacked.

I seriously would have kept Razor until the WC.

Also, as mentioned on a pod I watched earlier, what happens if the performances and results don't improve under the new coach? Who do you sack then?

Apparently Ardie said if Razor stayed, he's out the door...I don’t know what lead up to it or why there was a player revolt, but once you've lost the locker room, you're dead in the water...no point in staying on.

Yep and if players feel that way about a coach there is no coming back from that - he had to go

Draad

The problem is two-fold. Money situation is the AB' and NZ Rugby is in the red financially and that cause player salaries not being competitive with what clubs in Japan and Europe are prepared to pay and the player salaries are comparatively low, If AB plyers are allowed to join foreign clubs it will mean an increase income for local players.

In other words it is all about money - players like Savea knows their playing careers are nearing the end and they must earn as much as possible now and not later,

Th other problem is a feeding deficiency, If you look at school level and Under 20 rugby New Zealand is not making hay, The Baby AB's have not won the world annual series since 2017 confirming there is a problem and -

1. the silliness to ban playing for foreign clubs should be ended asap; and
2. more attetion should be paid to development of school rugby in New Zealand,

New Zealand shot itself in the foot by ending Super Rugby and it is unlikely that would change before 2032. Without correcting those kind of problem on interntional level there is a real chance of a downward trend in rugby competitieness by New Zealand,

To claim that those problems can be changed by a coach is not really possible and that may influence Brown when i comes to his next career move. Taking the above into account Brown in deciding on his return to NZ is pertinent, That is in the end that Razor got out and may also end any other coaches ambitions.

"As an ABs fan TB isn’t the answer SA have better systems and possibly the best rugby coach ever. The fact an SA coach employed a kiwi to be in the mix with Irishman and Saffas to create a magic mix. Even with Tony Brown and Jamie Joseph and Joe Schmidt and even throw in Steve Hanson NZ still won’t have the brains of Rassie or the structure of the Boks. Rassie has built an army of people that believe they can’t lose similar to the ABs of 2015. I also believe talent wise Boks not as good as ABs 2015 but with the best coaches and belief they are unstoppable. Even if TB comes back to us Rassie will replace him in a heart beat cause all coaches I think want to be part of this current Bok set up to absorb the Rassie magic."

Comment under a FB article.

The oaks have identified pretty well NZ rugby problems.

NZ will realize they have to pick overseas players. That alone will make a significant difference.

Combating woke will be hard to end given nz has far left woke Globalist politicians ruining the country.. I also can't see them stopping Islander payers from taking lucrative contracts from the parasitical NH.

It's quite possible than the wee abs find a few Workd class players and that will change their fortunes.

Rassie won't be there forever and we have some very great players aging.

Doubtless at some point the wee abs will be number one again. We need to try and make sure we have the edge on them overall.

Erasmus obviously discussed the issue with Brown and posted the following on he internet:-

"Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus posted a cheeky picture on social media refuting any speculation of losing one of his assistant coaches."

I read that Vern Cotter, head Coach of the Blues, is also a strong candidate for the vacant AB head coaching Job.

Maybe the Kiwi lads can give us some insight on Cotter as a coach and how good he is?

I just read this article on Jamie Joseph and I can't say that, from a Kiwi perspective, it fills me with much confidence for the man. Cotter likewise had an average stint coaching Scotland for a few years (2014 - 2016) ending with a 53% win rate, which I guess is okay for Scotland during that era but nothing to shout about either. No idea how he's going with the Blues.

Why not offer Razor the Sharks job? LOL

Duplication

"Why not offer Razor the Sharks job?"

I wouldn't mind at all . . . but let's give JP a chance first.

"Maybe the Kiwi lads can give us some insight . . ."

We don't have many "Kiwi lads" (or lasses) left . . . thanks to ButtPlug . . . and to a lesser extent Baboon-ou.

Thanks Pakie. Then maybe Dave Rennie is the guy? I read on Rugbypass, even Ronan O'Gara is a possible candidate.

"Why not offer Razor the Sharks job?"

"I wouldn't mind at all . . . but let's give JP a chance first."

Marco Massotti had some interesting things to say about JP and the sharks going forward. Huuuge reveal coming in Feb apparently.

https://youtu.be/KHzlHJsbYII?si=Ndj8kNYh5R5HMDYH

They’re seemingly quite sure he’s going to end up at Harlequins….