Scott Robertson thought he was \u201cbeing forced out the door\u201d by New Zealand Rugby after a report revealed details of the meeting which led to his dismissal as All Blacks head coach.<\/p>\n
The 51-year-old was sacked earlier this month following two years in charge, despite having a respectable 74 per cent win percentage \u2013 only bettered by the Springboks\u2019 Rassie Erasmus.<\/p>\n
It was claimed that the players had a key role in his exit, with concerns around trust and culture under Robertson<\/a>, although that was denied by NZR<\/a> chair David Kirk.<\/p>\n Details of Robertson\u2019s departure<\/p>\n According to the Irish Independent<\/a>, the Crusaders legend was summoned by the governing body on Monday, January 12 and was \u201casked to bring an employment lawyer\u201d, but was \u201cgiven no indication of any issue with the player review\u201d before the meeting.<\/p>\n It is also understood that he was \u201cnot told any specific feedback\u201d from that crucial review and it quickly became apparent to him that the \u201cwriting was on the wall\u201d.<\/p>\n The Irish Independent also claims that Robertson was shocked by the \u201ctone of the meeting\u201d and despite further discussions the next day, he was out of a job on the Thursday.<\/p>\n Those alleged details paint a concerning and shambolic picture over the circumstances surrounding Robertson\u2019s exit and the seeming lack of transparency from NZR, particularly if, as suggested, the now ex-head coach was not told exactly what the players\u2019 concerns were.<\/p>\n It implies that a decision had already been made prior to the meeting and that, ultimately, any defence put forward by Robertson was never going to wash with the governing body.<\/p>\n Prime All Blacks candidate to succeed Scott Robertson rules himself out as NZR suffer first big blow in head coach search<\/a><\/p>\n The pressure has duly increased on Kirk and the board to get the next appointment right or face a backlash over their decision to fire the person who was the popular choice to lead the All Blacks after Ian Foster\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n However, although Robertson arrived with much fanfare, it is fair to say that his whole tenure was fraught with issues.<\/p>\n Two coaches, Leon MacDonald and Jason Holland, decided to depart of their own volition, while results and performances were underwhelming.<\/p>\n Historic defeats<\/p>\n Although they finished 2025 in second place in the World Rugby rankings and, as mentioned, he had a 74 per cent win rate during his tenure, there were some unwanted historic firsts, especially in 2025.<\/p>\n The All Blacks suffered their record defeat, going down 43-10 to the Springboks in Wellington, and lost to Los Pumas for the first time in Argentina.<\/p>\n New Zealand\u2019s 33-19 reversal at the hands of England, which ended their hopes of a Grand Slam tour, was also a catastrophic result.<\/p>\n Those results raised doubts about whether Robertson was the right man to lead the All Blacks forward, but few expected NZR to really pull the trigger.<\/p>\n Now that it has been made, it is a call which has divided opinion, but one Kirk and the board will hope they have got right.<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as\u00a0a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a>\u00a0for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n