David Kirk: All Blacks can still beat Springboks and ‘win the World Cup’

New Zealand Rugby Chair David Kirk insists the All Blacks still have what it takes to win Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia, even as the search for a new head coach begins following the departure of Scott Robertson.

RugbyPass and other media outlets reported on Thursday morning that Robertson was set to part ways with the All Blacks, which was confirmed by NZR in the early afternoon. NZR will begin the search for a new head coach immediately, 20 months out from the World Cup.

The All Blacks have been drawn in Pool A along with Australia, Chile and Hong Kong China, and could face the Springboks or England in the quarter-finals. But their far more immediate focus will be on the opening three rounds of the Nations Championship and Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.

New Zealand will host France, Italy and Ireland to kick off their quest for Nations Championship glory in July, before jetting off to South Africa. Old-school rugby tours are back with the All Blacks facing the Springboks in four Tests, and also suiting up against the nation’s URC sides.

“Credit is absolutely due to Scott Robertson. He has put together a group of high-quality players and introduced a number of younger players to Test match rugby and given them plenty of game time,” Kirk told reporters in Auckland.

“I don’t doubt that we’ve got the players to beat South Africa in South Africa and to win the World Cup in 2027.”

Robertson won seven Super Rugby titles in as many years before taking up the top job with the All Blacks after the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The former All Blacks backrower inherited a team that included many World Cup finalists from the campaign under Ian Foster in France.

New Zealand lost to Argentina, twice to South Africa, and a 30-29 thriller against France during Robertson’s first season in charge. Robertson finishes with a 74 per cent winning percentage, although the next All Blacks coach’s success won’t be compared to that marker.

“The people decisions are always the hardest because you’re really definitively affecting other people’s lives,” Kirk explained.

“It’s very difficult, it’s very challenging, but it’s also very important for me but for others as well and the whole board of New Zealand Rugby that we put specific individual concerns aside and think about the All Blacks and think about the need for the All Blacks to continue to win, and for us to ensure that they have the best environment and best likelihood of winning.”

“In situations like this, it’s much riskier not to change.”

Kirk revealed there will be “some constraints on who he can work for and when” for about the next year, with those being most of the top-tier countries.