From saviour to sacked: Scott Robertson’s rapid rise and fall

Source: Radio New Zealand

He was heralded as the All Blacks’ saviour.

Calls for the highly accomplished, charismatic, break-dancing coach to take the country’s top job became deafening around Aotearoa. And finally, those calls were answered.

Scott Robertson, having created an incomparable dynasty in Christchurch with the Crusaders, succeeded Ian Foster as the 29th All Blacks head coach in 2024.

But the anticipated Razor-inspired renaissance instead became another dark age for the All Blacks.

Coaching departures, player dissent, and record defeats made for a tumultuous tenure for Robertson, one which has now been unceremoniously cut short.

Here is a timeline of the rise and fall of ‘Razor’:

2024:

The reign of Razor begins

Fresh off a heartbreaking one-point loss in the 2023 World Cup final, a sense of optimism enveloped the country as Robertson won a popular appointment to take over from Foster who was not exactly beloved by the notoriously rabid All Black fan base. Razor didn’t take long to ingratiate himself to the media, fronting for a stand up in early January. Rocking sandals and shorts, Razor made it clear quickly he would bring a unique flavour to the role.

A rosy start

A strong English side arrived on New Zealand shores to usher in a new All Black era and while a winning start for Razor’s men. It was a scrappy and nervy debut in Dunedin, the All Blacks sneaking home 16-15. This was followed by a slightly more convincing win in Auckland 24-17. After two tests of his tenure, Robertson gave himself a “a good pass mark” for his performance.

First cracks

After dispatching Fiji in San Diego, Robertson would inherit the capital curse, suffering his first loss as the Pumas pounced in Wellington, winning 38-30. Just the third time Argentina had toppled the All Black empire.

“I’m disappointed, I’m hurt,” said Robertson after the game. “We’ve just got look ourselves in the mirror and own it.”

MacDonald departs

Just eight months in to his reign, assistant coach Leon MacDonald abruptly handed in his resignation ahead of the tour to South Africa, citing differences in attacking philosophy and coaching direction.

Robertson said he and MacDonald had “differing views” which they couldn’t overcome.

“We have been having some honest conversations with each other for a little while now and both agreed it wasn’t working,” Robertson said at the time.

Beaten back to back by the Boks

MacDonald’s dramatic departure was followed by consecutive defeats to the old foe in the republic. Both tests could have easily gone the way of the Kiwis, but Razor’s side were lacking the killer instinct of past All Black sides, and couldn’t land the decisive blow.

“Our duty demands that we win those games. We will be frank and honest around it,” Robertson said post game.

A glimmer and a glitch

The All Blacks bounced back with five wins on the trot, locking the Bledisloe away for a 20th year in a row with a 31-28 win followed by a more resounding 33-13 in Wellington over the Wallabies.

Victories over Japan and then a 24-22 victory at Twickenham was followed by arguably the best performance by Robertson’s All Blacks as they edged Ireland 23-13. However, the gloss was quickly removed in Paris as the French put a halt to the winning run.

“There were just a couple of little moments where the game swung their way,” Robertson said of the loss to Les Bleus.

Robertson ends the year with 10 wins from 14 tests.

2025:

Understrength French sent packing

The year was again off to a perfect start as the All Blacks got their revenge and swept a third sting French side aside, racking up 103 points in the three test wins.

“We found a way to win and play really good footy,” Robertson said at the conclusion of the series.

Historic loss in South America

Another unwanted blemish on Robertson’s record as the All Blacks were beaten for the first time in history in Argentina soil, going down 29-23 in Buenos Aires. Discipline continues to plague the side, as the All Blacks were shown three yellow cards in the defeat.

“Test footy’s tough, we didn’t get a lot of little things go our way,” said Robertson.

Humiliation in the capital

A week on from their 51st consecutive win at Eden Park came the low point of Robertson’s reign and one of the darkest days in All Black history.

A shellshocked All Black outfit were subjected to a brutal second half blitz from the Boks, as scarcely believable scoreline read 43-10 when the carnage was mercifully ended.

“There were a couple of really big moments there and the game got away,” Roberston said after the rout.

Second-half surrender

Another topsy turvy end of year tour offered both hope and frustration for fans as the All Blacks produced classy wins over Ireland and Scotland, the latter being a brave comeback in Edinburgh, only to let things slip against the English at Twickenham. Second half woes struck again as England racked up 25 unanswered points to take the game away for the eventual 33-19 victory.

“The last couple of games we had finished quite well. But tonight we didn’t do that,” reflected Robertson.

Razor’s record now reads 20 wins from 27 tests, a 74 per cent win rate.

2026:

Razor gets cut

With rumours rife of a player revolt, NZ Rugby make the bold call to sack Robertson with the Rugby World Cup taking place next year.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand