“As you can imagine, I am gutted by this outcome. I care deeply about this team,” Robertson said in a statement today.
Talking to The Front Page podcast, NZ Herald sports reporter Alex Powell said Robertson’s appointment as All Blacks coach in 2024 came off the back of an impressive run as coach of the Crusaders.
“If Super Rugby is the proving ground to step your way into test rugby, no one had done what Scott Robertson had,” Powell said.
“They hadn’t won a title for a decade when he turned up, but then they only won when he was there.”
But that winning streak didn’t continue as Robertson stepped into the top job with the national side.
“What New Zealand Rugby and what fans saw in Super Rugby at the Crusaders was never reproduced with the All Blacks, and obviously Super Rugby and test rugby are two completely different environments,” Powell said.
“The All Blacks just never looked like being able to be as successful as the Crusaders were.”
Powell said despite Robertson’s disappointing 2025 season with the All Blacks, he’s still a “very good coach”.
“It’s obviously a great shame, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a very good motivator of a group.”
With reports swirling that Ardie Savea had been unhappy under Robertson’s leadership, questions remain about whether the loose forward may be lured out of the All Blacks jersey to continue his career offshore.
“Being an All Black as a professional is not in your financial interest. You can make so much more money going overseas. You know, we saw it with Richie Mo’unga ... Shannon Frizell, and Harry Plummer, who was a fringe All Black and is now making exponentially more money in France,” Powell said.
“So for a guy like Ardie to actually have that up his sleeve, I think, really would’ve set alarm bells off at New Zealand Rugby.”
Listen to the full episode to hear more on:
- The top contenders to step into the head coach role
- What’s next for Scott Robertson
- A look ahead at NZ’s big sporting opportunities for 2026
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
