Scott Robertson’s axing as All Blacks coach has reverberated around the rugby world, with global media outlets describing the move as everything from “stunning” to a sign of a “superpower in decline".
New Zealand Rugby chairman David Kirk confirmed Scott Robertson’s exit on Thursday.
The decision followed a scathing review into the All Blacks’ 2025 campaign — led by Kirk, fellow board member and former test hooker Keven Mealamu, and ex–high‑performance boss Don Tricker — which criticised Robertson’s coaching, leadership, and overall management of the national side.
With the panel recommending change, Kirk made the call to remove Robertson, ending his tenure less than two years into the job. NZR has now begun the search for a replacement, with Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph emerging as the early frontrunner.
1News' Patrick McKendry said the departure of Robertson - wildly successful at Super Rugby level but seemingly unable to translate that to the international game - was about more than just wins and losses.
"It was about credibility, a looming World Cup, and, ultimately, brand All Blacks."
Here's what the rest of the world had to say:
NZ Rugby Union confirms Scott Robertson is out, two years into his four-year tenure. (Source: 1News)
The BBC said Robertson's dismissal marked "another slip from the summit" for the All Blacks, saying the team's brand was based on more than a century of dominating rugby union.
"That a small country with a population of a little over five million is, by some distance, the most consistently successful in the history of the men's game is an astonishing achievement that has spawned a whole cottage industry in management gurus claiming to explain their over-performance. But, with Robertson's dismissal on Thursday, there is a sense of a superpower in decline."
The British national broadcaster said whoever took over the reins from Robertson faced the "difficult task of uniting a squad of players for the Rugby World Cup only 20 months away, and overcoming deeper structural issues".
"A four-Test series away to world champions South Africa is at the heart of a testing 2026 schedule and will be brutal barometer of where the team, and a rugby nation, stand."
Robertson was "everything New Zealand rugby could have wished for" on the surface, wrote The Guardian, citing his credentials in leading the Crusaders to seven consecutive Super Rugby titles.
"If anyone could connect with younger generations and encourage everyone to fall in love with the ABs again, surely he was da man? Instead he has been swallowed up and spat out after only 27 Tests.
"If ever there was a stark illustration that coaching domestically and at Test level require a different skillset, Razor’s short-lived tenure in charge of the All Blacks is probably it."
ESPN described Robertson's dumping as "the most stunning coaching overhaul since Eddie Jones replaced Dave Rennie as Wallabies coach" and that the move "left the collective jaw of the global rugby community on the floor".
"The expectation was always that Robertson would reproduce his incredible run with the Crusaders at the All Blacks. But in two years it never looked likely, and NZR deemed it too risky to hope that might still happen over the next 18 months," the US broadcaster wrote.
Acknowledging a 10-3 winning record was one every rugby nation "would kill for", ESPN said: "In a nation where rugby perfection is expected, almost demanded, Robertson's progress, or lack thereof, left his position vulnerable."
On the Irish Independent’s The Left Wing rugby podcast, Ruaidhri O'Connor, first to report Robertson would be losing his job, acknowledged the impact the move would have on the former coach, but said it was a major story.
“It’s a huge, seismic for an All Blacks coach to leave his job two years out from the World Cup.”
He said if Robertson was to go, now had to be time, given a busy two years ahead.
"It’s just enough time, as (South Africa's) Rassie Erasmus has shown, to pull together a great rugby nation."
Daniel Schofield of The Telegraph said "once one of the most feared teams in rugby, New Zealand are in crisis and the World Cup is fast approaching".
"What was notable about the 33-19 victory over New Zealand in November was how routine it seemed to Steve Borthwick’s players afterwards. Whatever fear factor, the All Blacks had going into the game, quickly dissipated. In fact, you can identify a single moment when their aura disappeared."
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including a major road closed by a serious crash, and the new bonuses for our Olympians. (Source: 1News)
SHARE ME