Jason Pine: Who will come forward to coach the All Blacks now?

Scott Robertson... gone as All Blacks coach. 

The “nuclear option” taken. The slate cleaned. The last two years consigned to history. 

Was it the right call to make a change? Yes. 

Board chair David Kirk talked about “trajectory” on Thursday. The All Blacks were not heading upwards, they had, at best, plateaued, and were in fact trending dangerously downwards. 

We were not more confident about the All Blacks at the end of 2025 than we were at the start of 2024. 

The signs of improvement were sporadic at best, overshadowed by doubt and confusion around tactics, around selection, around progress, around potential World Cup success. 

That’s the sole filter through which David Kirk and Co. examined things and made their decision. 

Were the All Blacks on track? No, they were not. Has Scott Robertson suddenly become a bad rugby coach? No. But he clearly underestimated the enormity of the job and those who put him into the role overestimated his ability to do it. 

Razor’s super-power is team culture, which he built superbly at the Crusaders, but consider how different that environment is. You have your players with you every day for six months. If you lose, you go again next week. 

And the scrutiny, while certainly robust, pales in comparison to the white-hot spotlight of the All Blacks, which has paralyzed many before him. It’s unforgiving in its intensity, demanding in its 24/7 nature, and relentless in its scrutiny. 

Many believe they have what it takes. They go in full of bullishness, bright ideas, bravado, and boldness, only to come to the realisation, either quickly, or over time, that their feet aren’t quite big enough for the enormous boots they’ve been assigned to wear. 

And they realise in hindsight, they displayed an obvious naivety about exactly what it is they’d walked into. 

There’s a reason this team is talked about in the manner in which it is. This is the All Blacks – there’s a legacy to uphold. A reputation to protect. A history to defend. A responsibility to carry. 

Not everyone can do that job – in fact, very few can. 

Scott Robertson took it on with every intention of enhancing the All Blacks’ story. Of taking this team to new heights, of winning World Cups.  

But not everything you try on is going to fit, and sometimes it’s better to find that out quickly so that you and your employer can move on. 

And that is now the question for the All Blacks. Move on... to what? 

Or more correctly, to who? 

Who has the tools, the knowledge, the fortitude and the resilience to take the job on and make a success of it? Not just a few years down the track, but almost immediately? 

There’s no settling-in period, no gentle launch, no soft landing. There’s a World Cup next year and the most gruelling All Blacks schedule ever in the next 10 months. 

Being able to coach scrums, line outs and back line moves is no longer enough, nowhere near enough for the enormous scope and complexity of this modern-day role.  

Among other things, you need international experience, the ability to assemble an effective support staff, the man management skills to keep the best players in the country happy even when they're not playing every game.  

And the charisma and communication skills to front the players, Super Rugby coaches, your bosses at New Zealand Rugby, the board, sponsors, the media and rugby fans. 

Who will come forward with the same bravery, the same courage in their convictions, the same confidence in their CV, and do what their predecessor could not? 

As the All Blacks often say, who will walk towards the pressure? And shine in its spotlight, rather than shrinking into the shadows? 

Who will accept this poisoned chalice and attempt to make it their holy grail? 

After what we’ve seen this week, who would want to? 

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