The All Blacks have ‘abdicated’ the throne as World Rugby’s innovators with the sacking of head coach Scott Robertson.
That is the opinion of renowned Kiwi pundit Scotty Stevenson, who has ripped into New Zealand Rugby’s decision to fire their head coach 18 months out from the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Stevenson believes that the former Crusaders boss was unfairly treated by the NZ Rugby board, who have effectively admitted that Super Rugby is no longer a breeding ground for international coaches.
Robertson won seven titles with the Canterbury outfit before he was eventually given the All Blacks‘ reins, taking over from Ian Foster, who himself was under pressure at a similar stage during his tenure.
Scott Robertson was treated unfairly
Unlike Robertson, Foster was allowed to see out his contract and led the side to a Rugby World Cup final where they were defeated by the Springboks.
Stevenson also called ‘bullsh–t’ on NZ Rugby chairman David Kirk’s claim that a player revolt did not result in Robertson’s dismissal before launching his rant about the state of the union.
“It doesn’t worry me whether you think Scott Robertson was the right person for the job or not. What it all boils down to me is, has the organisation been fair? That should be a concern for people,” he said during his Sports Nation show.
“This is an organisation that’s supposed to represent the best of the game. The best of us. They appointed a coach on the back of winning seven domestic Super Rugby titles, including when South Africa was still part of the competition, including when Argentina was still part of the competition.
“You appointed him on the back of that; you appointed him on the back of the strength of his success with a Super Rugby side.
“What you’ve said now is that’s never going to be good enough again. And bigger than just this to me is the subtext, which is an admission that the domestic game is not good enough to create international coaches.
“As an organisation, that is what has been admitted by this. That is what is underneath all of this, and underpinning all of this is that you have abdicated the throne when it comes to being the innovators of World Rugby.”
Running the All Blacks like a Premier League team
The radio host adds that he doesn’t have an issue with the All Blacks maintaining high standards for their coaches and players but accused NZ Rugby of running the team like a Premier League club.
“I have no issue with having huge expectations on win percentages for the All Blacks. I have none at all. It’s not about whether I believe Scott Robertson is the right coach for the job. I just want to look deeper than this for just a second,” he continued.
“If we’re going to become an EPL club where our managers, our coaches come and go at the whim of ownership groups, at the whim of influential people on boards, fair play to you. But I’m not entirely sure that’s going to lead to consistent results. Rassie Erasmus is a World Cup-winning coach on the back of a 76% win ratio. He wins the ones that count.
“Scott Robertson is no longer All Blacks coach based on a 74% win ratio.
“That has always been the difference, I think, between coaching the All Blacks and coaching any other international side. You are judged on every Test as an All Black coach. It’s not the same for any other country. It’s just not. It can’t be. Otherwise, they would be changing coaches every second week.
“We have massive expectations. I’ve got no problem with that, of course, you should, that’s been part of the All Blacks ethos, it’s been part of the All Blacks brand identity forever. Winning. I can understand that.
“This is an interesting text, ‘Has it ever occurred to you the right decision has been made in the best interest of our team?’ Of course it’s occurred to me. What A ridiculous text. It’s not about whether the outcome is right; it’s about the process to get there. I mean, I still believe in a sense of fairness. I still believe that these people are humans and is it in the best interest of the team? Well, time will tell. Careful what you wish for.
“It’s certainly in the best interest of some members of that team. And if they are calling the shots now, good luck to you.”
What a mess
Stevenson also hit out at the fact that Wayne Smith was not part of the review process of the 2025 season before taking the decision to remove Robertson.
All in all, the experienced pundit believes that the state of New Zealand Rugby is shambolic.
“The bigger thing here for me, as always, and I just like to zoom out because we can get stuck in the personality politics of this, and of which there are. Obviously, there are. But what does it say about the state of the organisation, of the game here? That surely concerns fans out there,” he added.
“This is an organisation without a CEO, without a coach for their national side, now we’re on the hunt, two years out from a Rugby World Cup, doesn’t it just look like a mess?
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
“If you were an outsider looking at New Zealand rugby right now, wouldn’t you just say, ‘What is going on there?’
“The most storied team in the game ever, and this is the state of the organisation at the moment. The high-performance guy’s gone to an EPL club, the head coach is gone, whether through resignation or sacking, and you still don’t have a leader of your actual organisation. Wow, wee. That does not strike me as high performance.”