Before I launch into another fascinating lecture, I do need to point out that I realise that only about three people will be interested in the aforementioned lecture today. I get it, seriously, I do. Not everybody is perfect, but we can still try.

To the three people who fit into the intersection of a Venn diagram featuring following rugby and following Some Geek Told Me, you are going to love today’s blog, as well as the next two.

To everybody else, from the bottom of my geek-laden heart, I’m very sorry about today’s blog and the next two weeks. Please forgive me.

Warning: this is not a hit piece. It may seem like it, but it’s not.

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For the three people who have stuck around, thanks. As you know, I enjoy sports, especially rugby, or to be precise, rugby union. I have talked about rugby several times on this delightful platform to express my love for the game, but also to explain the rules, because they can be complicated, even to a veteran supporter like myself.

To continue listing things you already know, like a preschooler detailing the events of a movie to you, forgetting that you just watched it with them, I’m a New Zealander, so I support the Wallabies.

Nah, I did that to see if you were paying attention. No, I’m an All Blacks supporter, which also means I support the Black Ferns. Just in case someone new has accidentally wandered in and started reading this blog and has no idea what those terms mean, the All Blacks are the name of New Zealand’s Men’s National rugby team, while the Black Ferns are the women’s. Savvy?

In Aotearoa New Zealand, we often say that the three most important jobs in the country are the All Blacks’ coach, the All Blacks’ captain, and the Prime Minister, in that order. We take rugby very seriously; it’s part of our national identity. It’s madness. As I’ve mentioned earlier, I have discussed my love for rugby, All Blacks, and the Black Ferns before, but I have not discussed this scandal/conundrum that has rocked the country. Sorry, I’m building up the tension, and don’t need to, but it’s fun.

On 15th January 2026, the All Blacks’ head coach, Scott Robertson, was fired from the position by New Zealand Rugby (NZR). That in itself is nothing new; professional coaches get sacked all the time. Football coaches in England get sacked every other Tuesday. What’s remarkable about this firing is that Robertson is the first All Blacks coach to ever be fired.

Let’s back up and lay the scene. Robertson had a very successful reign as coach of the Canterbury Crusaders, having won five Super Rugby titles and two Super Rugby Aotearoa titles in seven years. Robertson was named All Blacks coach in March 2023, in an unprecedented move, because of two reasons: 1.) The All Blacks coach, Ian Foster, was still in the job, but he was leaving at the end of the year. 2.) 2023 was a World Cup year, one of the most stressful times in the four-year cycle of world rugby.

So suddenly, the All Blacks had one head coach on the field, and one on paper; one in the present and one in the future. Anyway, the All Blacks made it to the World Cup Final, but were defeated 12-11 by their ancient nemesis, South Africa, aka the Springboks. Foster left the position after the World Cup, as planned, and Robertson took over. For a large section of New Zealand’s rugby community, Robertson was hailed as a potential saviour. The All Blacks had not won the World Cup since 2015, so Robertson had four years to transform the team and bring glory to the country.

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Now I am going to be honest about something. Over the last 10 years, the All Blacks have had a few setbacks. Some were small, some worrying, and some were humiliating and embarrassing. I won’t go into details; you can look them up yourself, but these issues have been difficult for me to view, believe, and accept.

Having said that, the All Blacks and Black Ferns, like us supporters, don’t focus on the number of wins; we focus on the number of losses. It’s not about how many games we win, it’s about how many games we lose. It’s a small but subtle difference and an insight into how we New Zealanders view the game.

Over the last two years, Robertson was in charge of the All Blacks, but he was sacked two years into a four-year contract. What happened?

It’s complex, but I’ll do my best to be balanced. At the end of 2025, NZR held an end-of-season review. We are two years out for the next World Cup, so we need to know that the team is on the right track. However, after talking to many people, like players, Robertson, and others, it was agreed and decided upon that it would be in the best interests of the team if he left.

Of course, this has led to many theories about the dismissal, but it has also caused the public to confront two questions: Why did Robertson have to leave? And was it the correct choice?

Obviously, I haven’t read every piece of information written about the review, nor the real findings; I’m not even sure if that’s public. In that regard, I’m going to attack these questions, but I’ll base the answers on facts, and not opinions.

The key reasons for Robertson to stay:

• He guided the All Blacks to 20 wins from 27 tests over two years (10 in 2024 and 10 in 2025).
• He had a winning rate of 74% with the All Blacks.
• He is a very successful and creative coach.
• The All Blacks won a home series over England 2-0 in 2024.
• The All Blacks took second place in the 2024 Rugby Championship.
• The All Blacks retained the Bledisloe Cup in 2024.
• The All Blacks defeated England (for the third time in a year), Ireland and Italy on tour.
• The All Blacks retained the Hilary Shield in 2024.
• The All Blacks finished third on the IRB world ranking in 2024.
• The All Blacks won a home series over France 3-0 in 2025.
• The All Blacks won the Dave Gallaher Trophy for the first time since 2018.
• The All Blacks defeated South Africa (the world champions and number one-ranked team) at Eden Park in 2025, as the All Blacks haven’t lost there since 1994.
• The All Blacks retained the Bledisloe Cup in 2025.
• The All Blacks took second place in the 2025 Rugby Championship.
• The All Blacks defeated Ireland, Scotland, and Wales on tour.
• The All Blacks have beaten Ireland (ranked 1st/2nd in the world) three times in a row (twice under Robertson).
• The All Blacks became the IRB World Ranked Leader in 2025, for the first time since 2021.
• The All Blacks finished second on the IRB world ranking in 2025.
• He was only two years into a four-year contract.
• The World Cup begins in October 2027.

The key reasons for Robertson to leave:

• The All Blacks lost seven tests over two years: 3 x South Africa, 2 x Argentina, 1 x France, and 1 x England.
• Argentina defeated the All Blacks for the third time in 2024 and got their largest score against them.
• Argentina defeated the All Blacks for the fourth time in 2025 and the first time on home soil ever.
• France achieved a three-match winning streak over the All Blacks, for the first time since 1995 (one under Robertson).
• South Africa achieved a four-match winning streak over the All Blacks, for the first time since 1949 (twice under Robertson).
• The All Blacks’ tour of South Africa in 2024 was the worst South African tour since 2009.
• The All Blacks suffered their worst defeat in the team’s history, losing to South Africa, 43-10 in 2025.
• In 2024, the All Blacks lost the Freedom Cup for the first time since 2009.
• France retained the Dave Gallaher Trophy over the All Blacks for the first time ever in 2024.
• South Africa retained the Freedom Cup over the All Blacks for the first time ever in 2025.
• The last time the All Blacks won the Rugby Championship was in 2023, having previously won the title four years in a row.
• The last time the All Blacks finished 2nd in the Rugby Championship was in 2015.
• England defeated the All Blacks for the first time since 2019, and their first win at Twickenham against the All Blacks since 2012.
• The All Blacks lost the Hillary Shield to England for the first time since 2012.
• Two All Blacks assistant coaches left under Robertson’s leadership: Leon MacDonald in 2024 and Jason Holland in 2025.
• The last time the All Blacks lost four tests in a year was in 2022, when previously it was in 1998.
• Not benching older players and playing younger players.
• Failing to win the Grand Slam for the first time since 2010.
• For not giving the captaincy to Ardie Savea.
• The All Blacks were ranked 1st in the world for only four weeks.
• The media had reported that players were dissatisfied with Robertson.

Ultimately, no matter what the sport, coaches can only select, train, and prepare their players, they can not go onto the field, and play the game for them. Far too often, when a team is not performing well, the blame is usually placed on the head coach, bypassing player responsibility.

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Now, everything I have listed on both lists is accurate and true, but was firing Robertson the right choice? I honestly have no idea, I don’t know. I know the reasons to keep him, just as much as I know the reasons to let him go.

Regardless of how I feel, which is just confusion more than anything else, I am stunned. No matter how you feel about Robertson, this was an unexpected and unprecedented move from NZR to fire him. His firing can be viewed as both a positive and a negative thing.

The positive points are:

• The aura around the All Blacks has slipped, and teams are no longer afraid of them.
• Robertson was supposed to save the All Blacks, not make things worse.
• It was great that NZR had discovered and admitted the problems, and had tried to solve them, well before the 2027 World Cup.
• You can’t expect to stay as head coach after suffering the team’s heaviest defeat in its history.
• Finding another coach as soon as possible will give them and their coaching staff the time to prepare the players for the next two years, with the World Cup in 2027.
• Yes, indeed, the focus should not always be about the World Cup, but the reality is that the All Blacks have not won it since 2015.
• The public’s expectations and standards are high, and NZR needs to meet them.
• With South Africa, Ireland, France, Argentina, and England now consistently defeating the All Blacks, the NZR must take strong action. It is essential to support the new generation of New Zealand coaches to restore the All Blacks and the Black Ferns to their dominant position in world rugby.
• Player satisfaction is important, and they need to be listened to.

The negative points are:

• Apparently, a 74% winning rate is not good enough for the All Blacks anymore.
• In 1998, when the All Blacks lost five matches straight (the team’s worst losing streak), head coach John Hart was not fired, nor did he resign.
• Some All Blacks coaches who had a lower winning rate than Robertson after two years, were not fired.
• No All Blacks coach had ever been sacked before.
• Robertson deserved to stay until after the World Cup, just like all the other coaches, post-1987.
• In some international circles, people are saying that New Zealand is in disarray, and Robertson’s firing shows the world that New Zealand Rugby is out of ideas, lacks creativity, and does not back their coaches.
• The next coach will be under a gargantuan amount of pressure from the press and the public to perform.
• Will the public ever get to read the 2025 All Blacks end-of-season review?

Being a coach of any sport is difficult, but being the coach of a national team, playing their national sport, takes it to the next level. I love the All Blacks and the Black Ferns, I do. However, two things need to be said:

1.) Over the last 10 years, both teams have had amazing wins and some terrible losses. It could just be me, but things are not totally clicking for the teams, for whatever reason. Playing professional sport is a gift that these players can only do for a small window of time, and they are humans, just like us.

Maybe it’s an illusion, whether the state of rugby in New Zealand is in decline, but it is something we need to discuss and find answers for. I don’t know, I’m not smart enough to answer that question. The Black Ferns have a new coach with Whitney Hansen, and the All Blacks will have one soon, so there is always hope.

2.) Regardless of how New Zealand is playing and operating the game at the men’s and women’s international level, the rest of the world has caught up to and, with some teams, has even surpassed us. In the men’s game, South Africa, France, Ireland, Argentina, and England are deadly, and all of them will be a threat at the World Cup.

As for the women’s game, England, Canada, and France are leading the way, being able to regularly beat us. You have to give these teams credit because they have worked their arses off to be where they are. Well done, seriously, as a New Zealand rugby supporter, that is high praise.

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At the time of writing, the new All Blacks coach has not been named, but whoever it is, they are going to need support. They did not get Robertson fired, so I hope people remember that.

New Zealand rugby supporters have a long tradition of being arrogant with an inflated sense of superiority. I found it hard not to fall into that trap, having lived in the United Kingdom, while the All Blacks were losing to England. It can sometimes be very humbling as a supporter of New Zealand rugby, but that’s life.

I feel sad for Robertson and the rugby community, because it’s not a great look for a national coach to be fired. As I said before, I have no idea whether letting Robertson go was the right choice or not; I can only hope that both the All Blacks and Black Ferns can pick themselves up and go again. I don’t have blind faith in them, but I do have faith, and that’s enough.

I can only hope that the resetting of coaches for both teams will be beneficial to us, but also to themselves. I want them to be in the news for the right reasons, but it’s not up to me. If they win, I love them. If they lose, I still love them.

It’s good that rugby is strong and competitive at the international level in both the men’s and women’s games. It really is, because to be the best in the world, you need to beat the best in the world, because…you know…I bleed back.

I hope this lecture has made sense. Do you have any thoughts about Scott Robertson being sacked? As always, please let me know.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, don’t let your friends threaten to take over another country, and I’ll see you next week, where we are going to discuss the greatest rugby tournament outside of the World Cup: The Six Nations Championship! I know you can’t wait.

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