Scott Robertson is set to be sacked overnight by New Zealand Rugby only two years into his tenure as the All Blacks head coach.
The Times understands that confirmation of Robertson’s departure is expected on Thursday in New Zealand, leaving them having to find a new leader 20 months before the World Cup in Australia and at the start of a huge year, during which they face a four-Test series against the world champions, South Africa, in the inaugural Greatest Rivalry tour.
Reports from The New Zealand Herald about an internal review process revealed that Robertson’s coaching came under fierce criticism from senior players, including the star back-row forward and former captain Ardie Savea, who was apparently prepared to stay at his Japanese club Kobe Steelers, or sign for a European club and sacrifice a year of international rugby, if Robertson remained in his post.
Savea, right, was among the players said to be unhappy with Robertson’s tenure
HAGEN HOPKINS/GETTY IMAGES
The assistant coach, Scott Hansen, is also said to have been heavily criticised as top players gave scathing reviews of the All Blacks environment and culture. This damning feedback was delivered to New Zealand Rugby recently, putting the chairman, David Kirk, under serious pressure to act swiftly. On Robertson’s watch two assistant coaches — Leon MacDonald and Jason Holland — have previously left his set-up.
Robertson, nicknamed “Razor”, was the golden boy of New Zealand rugby having led the Crusaders to seven consecutive Super Rugby titles.
The 51-year-old took the All Blacks job in 2024, with his contract due to run to the 2027 World Cup, to much fanfare, and first coached them against England in the July series that year, which they won 2-0 with a pair of narrow victories.
Robertson won 20 of his 27 Tests in charge — at 74 per cent a better win ratio than his predecessor, Ian Foster, who won 69.6 per cent of his 46 Tests but led the All Blacks to the 2023 World Cup final, in which they lost to South Africa by a point, 12-11.
New Zealand lost only three of 13 Tests in 2025, Robertson’s second year in charge, but all three defeats were alarming for a nation obsessed with its national rugby team. The most galling reverse was the record 43-10 defeat by the Springboks in Wellington during the Rugby Championship, which came three weeks after a 29-23 loss to Argentina, their first defeat by Los Pumas away from home. Steve Borthwick’s England also trounced Robertson’s All Blacks 33-19 at Twickenham in November.
Joseph, the former All Blacks lock, enjoyed success as Japan’s head coach and is a strong contender to succeed Robertson
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Before he took the New Zealand job, Robertson was viewed as a visionary coach with a free spirit, but he became tense and looked under pressure from the start of his All Blacks reign. Ultimately, he could not live up to the incredibly high standards expected of a nation who won back-to-back World Cups in 2011 and 2015 but have slipped off the summit since as the Springboks have dominated the sport.
The All Blacks, who have a training camp scheduled for Monday, need a new coach to lead them to the World Cup in Australia, where they will face the host nation in the pool stage. If that tournament goes to form, New Zealand could face South Africa in the quarter-finals.
Jamie Joseph is the clear frontrunner to take the top job, having been beaten to the post by Robertson in 2024 when Foster’s contract was not renewed. Joseph played 20 Tests for the All Blacks and coached Japan when they made the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time at their home tournament in 2019. The 56-year-old is well positioned to take the All Blacks job, having coached the Highlanders Super Rugby franchise team since 2024. Dave Rennie, the former Wallabies coach, could be another candidate under consideration by New Zealand Rugby.
New Zealand have a bumper set of fixtures in 2026, with their union viewing it as one of their most significant years ever. They host Ireland, France and Italy in the new Nations Championship in July before travelling to South Africa for the first edition of the Greatest Rivalry Series, which will include four Tests against Rassie Erasmus’s Springboks.
The All Blacks will also play a Bledisloe Cup series against Australia, after which they will travel north to face England, Scotland and Wales in the second half of the Nations Championship in November, ending the year with that competition’s finals series.
It is incredibly rare for New Zealand Rugby to sack the All Blacks head coach in the modern era. John Mitchell, the England Women head coach, departed in 2003 after losing the World Cup semi-final to Australia. He refused to stand down, but his contract was not renewed. Wayne Smith’s contract was also allowed to expire in 2001. Since then, Graham Henry, Hansen and Foster have all left at the end of their contracts. Henry and Hansen were immortalised as World Cup-winning coaches, while Foster was undermined by his bosses, who pushed to install Robertson after the 2023 tournament.