The blunting of sacked All Blacks coach Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson

Saturday, 17 January 2026

A beaming Scott Robertson stood on a makeshift stage at Christchurch Airport, cupped his hand to his ear and soaked up the chants from adoring fans.

“Hoo Hey Razor Ray,” the roughly 500-strong crowd chanted the morning after the Crusaders beat the Chiefs in the 2023 Super Rugby final in Hamilton.

Having already celebrated through the night, Robertson couldn’t get enough of it, egging them on like a band’s front man.

The All Black coach-elect was going out on a high. And a seventh Super Rugby title in as many years reinforced the overwhelming sense Robertson not only deserved the shot he’d been given to coach the national side, but also boosted optimism the men in black would again become genuine world beaters under his watch.

After four years of the much-maligned Ian Foster, the man known as “Razor” was going to shake things up and breathe much-needed life into the stale All Blacks almost a decade after their last World Cup triumph.

Before he even coached a test, a three-part documentary series called Razor, directed by freelance journalist Jim Kayes, aired to fuel the fascination surrounding him.

What made the surf-loving coach who celebrated titles by busting out breakdancing routines so successful?

The intrigue didn’t last.

In fact, it was gone well before Robertson was effectively sacked by New Zealand Rugby halfway through his four-year deal on Thursday - a bombshell decision less than two years out from the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

As New Zealand Rugby chairman David Kirk said: the governing body’s hierarchy wasn’t “seeing the trajectory” required to give them confidence the All Blacks were on the right track on the back of a 20-7 record the past two years, which featured no Rugby Championship crowns.

What’s fascinating is the internal review which doomed him is understood to have raised concerns regarding the team’s environment and culture - the very things Robertson was renowned for during his time in charge of the Crusaders and Canterbury.

He utilised themes to inspire players and coaches, to bring them together and motivate them for a cause. Crusaders players often raved about his ability to connect with players from all backgrounds.

Robertson grew close with his players, even receiving text messages from some Crusaders All Blacks regarding Foster’s regime during the 2023 campaign, while it was Robertson’s connection with Leicester Fainga’anuku that helped bring the utility back home from France last year.

“I’m a storyteller. It’s my greatest strength. As a coach, your first job is to select the right people - but then, you need to connect them with each other. You need a story to explain: ‘This is where we’re going’. That’s how you motivate people,” Robertson said in 2023.

However, as one prominent rugby figure, who has worked with Robertson in the past and didn’t want to be identified, said: just because his methods turned to gold at the Crusaders, there was no guarantee it would translate at the next level.

Clearly, it didn’t. Not with the added pressure and workload of not just managing players and coaches, but dealing with executives, expanded support staffs, directors and sponsors.

It didn’t take long for red flags to start popping up, starting with assistant coach Leon MacDonald’s departure halfway through the Rugby Championship in 2024, and less than two months after the first squad of Robertson’s tenure was named.

MacDonald is understood to have been unhappy taking a back seat to Robertson’s right-hand man, Scott Hansen.

Another assistant - Jason Holland, who at times during his two years in the job resembled a man with all the enthusiasm of a man facing the gallows - would follow suit at the end of 2025.

In between their exits, which reeked of trouble behind the scenes, TJ Perenara controversially hijacked a haka with a political message before the Al Blacks’ test against Italy in Turin in 2024.

While Robertson said Perenara had discussed it with management, it’s understood it caught a number of players and coaches off guard, and ruffled feathers within New Zealand Rugby.

Losses also continued at an unacceptable clip, including a 29-23 defeat to the Pumas in Argentina last August on the back of an underwhelming July series against a depleted French team.

However, it got worse with their historic 43-10 trouncing to the Springboks in Wellington, a defeat which rattled Robertson to the core.

All was not well. Far from it, prompting whispers of discontent both among coaches and players.

Robertson had not helped himself by beating the drums for the return of Japan-based Richie Mo’unga, his long-time “quarterback” at the Crusaders, and the potential selection of overseas-based players.

If he thought that was water off a duck’s back to current pivots Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett, he was badly mistaken.

Inconsistencies regarding disciplinary action are also believed to have created tension among players.

It’s understood at least two players didn’t meet team standards while on tours but weren’t punished to the same extent as prop Ethan de Groot, who missed a team curfew in 2024 and was promptly dropped.

Meanwhile, as the All Blacks continued to fumble and bumble their way through tests, essentially showing no noteworthy gains across two years, it was difficult to get much sense out of Robertson.

Back at Crusaders training after his whirlwind appointment and All Blacks introductory press conference in Auckland in March 2023, Robertson, accustomed to dealing with a small media contingent, made a comment regarding the intensity of the aforementioned presser.

He was encouraged by reporters to make sure of one thing when he was in the hot seat - don’t let communications managers media train you into a dull, walking cliché.

While he didn’t quite morph into that, he became increasingly incoherent during his time with the All Blacks, clearly over-thinking and over-processing his answers before spitting them out.

He was a shadow of the man who often spoke his mind and lit up Rugby Park in Christchurch with his relaxed and quirky ways.

Robertson was cycling in Sumner with wife Jane on Thursday about the time a New Zealand Rugby staff member uncorked the bombshell press release confirming he was out of the job.

Unsurprisingly, he declined to address his demise with ThreeNews, before hurriedly pedalling home in a bid to escape the spotlight.

Indeed, the ‘Hoo Hey Razor Ray’ chants an increasingly distant memory, how quickly things can change.