Scott Robertson: The sacking of the All Black coach represents another slide from the top

On the coaching side, the All Blacks had a policy of promoting from within.

Steve Hansen and Ian Foster – two of Robertson’s immediate predecessors – both took over as head coach of the All Blacks after serving as assistants.

Robertson, who previously coached the Baby Blacks’ under-20s before a highly successful spell with the Canterbury-based Crusaders, was a relative outsider, despite not having significant coaching experience outside of New Zealand.

No foreign coach has ever assumed this role.

For a long time, this isolation protected winning intellectual property.

Now, South Africa’s innovative and global structure seems to be slowing it down.

There is a broader challenge as well.

Rugby authorities in New Zealand, like other countries, are struggling with a decline in the number of boys playing the game., external

The All Blacks’ mystique has also been affected by the need to leverage it for revenue.

In 2022, US private equity firm Silver Lake bought a stake in the All Blacks in a controversial deal.

Last year, there was a very public dispute with Ineos, the petrochemicals company owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, over a default on a sponsorship agreement.

Winning matches in emerging markets have become a regular feature of the team’s itinerary, raising money, but not generating enthusiasm or passion at home.

Off-field incidents involve a number, external to , externalplayers, external who then remained in the team, also tested belief in the All Blacks’ famous zero-tolerance policy for bad behaviour.

The talent pipeline, once so certain, has faltered.

New Zealand won its first U-20 World Cup in 2008, and the following three editions.

But they have only reached the final once in the past five stages of the tournament, losing to South Africa in Italy last year.

The National Rugby League, Australia’s powerhouse domestic rugby league competition, will reportedly stage a fixture in its iconic State of Origin series in New Zealand for the first time in 2027, and hopes to launch a second franchise in the country by 2029.

As he expands and explores promising rugby prospects, the talent pool in the All Black squad shrinks further.

There is always the possibility of another golden generation emerging.

The current roster, which includes talents like Cam Roegaard, Wallace Cityte, and Will Jordan, is extremely valuable.

But whoever takes over from Robertson will face the difficult task of uniting a squad of players to compete in the Rugby World Cup in just 20 months, and overcoming deeper structural problems.

A four-Test series against world champions South Africa lies at the heart of the 2026 Test schedule and will serve as a brutal barometer of where the team and the rugby nation stand.