Scott Robertson’s Super Rugby success didn’t translate as All Blacks coach
Sunday, 18 January 2026
ANALYSIS: Was Stephen Jones right all along?
Turns out for Scott Robertson, that overseeing the bagging a sack-load of tries that led to a heavy haul of Super Rugby titles counted for very little at the highest international level.
Robertson’s dumping - let’s not for a second consider the message from the head of the New Zealand Rugby politburo that this was an agreement to kindly step aside - as All Blacks head coach on Thursday came just two years after the man many felt was The Chosen One finally got his chance on the biggest stage.
As the acerbic, just-retired rugby writer for The Sunday Times, Jones - who excelled as a troll on New Zealand rugby long before the term and position-take became common on the interwebs - would gleefully point out on the odd occasion of an All Black comeuppance (or even without the need for such delight) that the high-scoring, limited-defence entertainment of the Super Rugby competition which Robertson’s Crusaders dominated would not stand the intense scrutiny of heated test rivalries.
Jones’ case carried more oomph when the South African Rugby Union decided in 2020 to cut ties with Super Rugby.
Reasons were varied and pointed, but the departure of the four South African franchises to the upper hemisphere left a lesser challenge for New Zealand’s top players, with Australian rugby at a low ebb.
Since that switch, the Springboks have won seven of their 11 matches against the All Blacks.
Robertson’s record versus the Boks was an unflattering 1-3, with the most glaring failure being the humbling record defeat in Wellington last year which appeared to expose the team as barely more than a shambles, rather than the promisingly-transitioning outfit NZ Rugby were expecting to view.
How much of the blame lies on Robertson, and his assorted and oft-changing coaching crew?
Steve Hansen couldn’t repeat his 2015 World Cup triumph four years later in Japan, and Ian Foster fell at the final hurdle in France.
Foster could raise a compelling case that he was hindered by a lack of ‘quality cattle’.
Hansen’s 2015 victors featured nine players - Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Richie McCaw, Kieran Read, Aaron Smith, Daniel Carter, Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith and Ben Smith - who are either without question, or at the very least in the conversation frame to be, included in the best combined All Blacks team in history.
Even the bench was stacked with generational talent - Keven Mealamu, Sam Cane, Beauden Barrett and Sonny Bill Williams were on hand to finish off the Wallabies.
Robertson then wasn’t blessed with an abundance of assets - in the squad for his fated final test in charge versus England at Twickenham late last year, the likes of Barrett were past the peak of their powers, with only Ardie Savea in the same status as the class of 2015.
The same player has been singled out as the key detractor of Robertson’s coaching abilities among the current crop.
Player power is tough for a coach to overcome - it’s measurably easier to remove one problem than ditch a substantial group of sub-standard performers.
It must be particularly galling for Robertson when ‘your’ players were clearly a notable part of the problem in results which didn’t meet the lofty expectations of your employers, and more importantly and powerfully, your fans.
But Savea may have rightly spent all of 2025 wondering why the uninspiring Scott Barrett was leading the ABs when the dynamic loose forward was the obvious appointment.
So who’s next on the throne?
Jamie Joseph is the name on everyone’s lips - as Robertson’s was as Ian Foster felt the wrath of All Blacks fans right up til the World Cup final defeat to the Springboks which sealed his fate.
Joseph has a strong winning record. It’s nothing as compelling as Robertson achieved in New Zealand, but critically it does feature international experience with Japan.
Other possible options - including Dave Rennie, Joe Schmidt and Vern Cotter - have knowledge of what test rugby requires, tactically and mentally.
The Times reported hours after Robertson’s sacking that English club Harlequins are interested in speaking to him about taking over at the Premiership side.
They’ve recently had coach Danny Wilson join Wales as an assistant and “are looking for a long-term appointment after years of flux” after five coaches in eight years, including former Crusaders midfielder Tabai Matson.
Harlequins are renowned for playing an attacking style and may have an appeal for Robertson, should his disappointment over his somewhat surprising All Black exit dissipate quickly, yet it would be more ironic than anything in Alanis Morrissette’s wheelhouse.
Robertson’s breakdancing celebrations became part of the country’s folklore - broken out after every Crusaders’ title, the floppy-haired surf fanatic rivalled Parris Goebel and Joe Moana (the white-gloved star of the Poi E video) as New Zealand’s most famous groovers and shakers.
But two seasons out from the World Cup final triumph he’d have been eyeing, Robertson’s Last Dance with the All Blacks was a shimmy in the shadows out the side-exit.
Corrections: An earlier version of this story stated the All Blacks lost to the Springboks in the semis of the 2023 World Cup. It was the final. Also, Sam Cane did not appear for the All Blacks in 2025.