Firstly (and this is often theinstinctive reaction for Kiwi sports fans): it’s a disaster. A sign of a calamitous coaching set-up riven by bickering and in-fighting.
Lack of strategy and planning led to the wrong people being thrown together resulting in the wrong decisions being made and the wrong tactics being implemented.
The player who kicks the ball in desperation because of earlier miscommunication with a teammate is no different from the coach who sets his charges on the wrong path after garbled discussions with the other coaches.
This view would hold that the appointment was doomed from the outset and that the body responsible for putting MacDonald in there is at fault. Another own goal from New Zealand Rugby, the sceptics will say.
The second view is more positive. Making a tough call early is the best move; this is arguably one of the better decisions to come out of New Zealand Rugby in recent years.
Scott Robertson and MacDonald must have believed they had many common points in their philosophies on how the game should be planned and played.
And the areas that weren’t common points could have been framed as areas of distinctive difference. That’s why the former Blues boss was given such an important place in the coaching set-up.
When they realised that the common points weren’t common enough and the differences too large, they bravely and correctly agreed to part ways. It was the best of a bad bunch of options. Hanging in there would have been the worst.
All Blacks management are better off rearranging the coaching crew two months into the Razor era than two months out from the next Rugby World Cup.
The truth, as ever, is likely more nuanced, falling between those two views. What looks like a wasteful high kick into the midfield is actually a well-considered execution of a statistically prudent option. But, yeah, chucking it to Beaudy and watching him run the length of the field has appeal, too.
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has parted ways with his assistant Leon MacDonald due to 'differing views'. Photo / George Heard
By cauterising this issue early, the All Blacks have allowed themselves clear space in which to reset the coaching panel. They’ve also cut off any risk of resentment and ill will festering within the organisation.
The announcement of MacDonald’s departure came as the team was about to depart for two matches in South Africa, the toughest place any All Blacks side will ever play. On the one hand, heading to the Highveld one coach short is a worry, but being on another continent in another timezone will at least remove them, from the fishbowl of New Zealand. The team will be happy to get their affairs in order out of our sight.
It’s not unusual for a top coach to change their assistants. Robertson’s predecessor, Ian Foster, also changed his coaching assistants barely one year out from the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Forwards coach John Plumtree and attack coach Brad Mooar departed after the disastrous series defeat to Ireland in 2022. When their eventual replacements Jason Ryan and Joe Schmidt settled into their roles, the side found clearer focus and seemed better able to execute and highlight their remarkable skills; they went on a drive that fell just one missed penalty kick short of securing the Webb Ellis Cup.
Robertson’s players haven’t quite gelled so far this season. A similar revitalisation of his All Blacks panel could put them on the right path for the challenges ahead.
