NZR Chair’s take on All Blacks’ ‘trajectory’ under Scott Robertson

New Zealand Rugby Chair David Kirk has explained the All Blacks “were not on track” under Scott Robertson, with the governing body announcing on Thursday that the head coach had departed the role.

Kirk was part of the extensive review into the All Blacks’ 2025 season, along with two-time Rugby World Cup winner Keven Mealamu and former NZR high-performance manager Don Tricker, which ultimately led to this coaching decision.

Multiple media outlets, including RugbyPass, reported on Thursday morning that Robertson was set to exit the head coach role with the national team, which was later confirmed by NZR in the early afternoon.

Robertson released a statement shortly after, saying he was “gutted” to be moving on from “the honour of my life.” The All Blacks won 20 of 27 Tests with ‘Razor’ Robertson in charge, including victory against the Springboks at Eden Park last year.

Kirk fronted the press in Auckland to explain the decision, which has come at a “crucial mid-period in the four-year World Cup cycle.” New Zealand Rugby will begin the search for a new head coach immediately, about 20 months out from the showpiece event in Australia.

“Certainly when the board had analysed the material and the management, high performance team here analysed the material, there was a clear initial hypothesis that things were not on track,” Kirk told reporters.

“Obviously we talked to the coach, the head coach in particular, and others about that… yes, the review did give us a clear direction.

“It’s not really appropriate to talk in detail about any review findings. There are a lot of things covered in the review and a lot of opinions and approaches taken but the direction was clear and they certainly had an influence on the outcome.”

The All Blacks started their new era under Robertson with a dramatic 16-15 win over England at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin. They secured a seven-point win over the same opponent a week later in Auckland, before running away with a 47-5 triumph over Fiji in San Diego.

Argentina were the first side to defeat Robertson’s All Blacks, who would later fall twice to the Springboks in South Africa and against France in Paris. The All Blacks lost four Tests in the coach’s first season, before suffering three defeats in 2025.

New Zealand won all three matches against France in July before kicking off their campaign in The Rugby Championship in style, winning 41-24 away to Argentina. They were beaten by Los Pumas seven days later 29-23 at Jose Amalfitani Stadium, Buenos Aires.

After overcoming South Africa at Eden Park, the All Blacks suffered a record 43-10 defeat to the Boks a week later in Wellington. Their only other defeat in 2025 was a 14-point loss to England at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium.

“I think trajectory is a good word to apply. We weren’t seeing the trajectory that we wanted and I think fans will probably share that view, that there were ways that we were playing and ways we were falling a bit short of the excellence we’re looking for,” Kirk explained.

“It never really got addressed over the year so I think that was certainly a theme.

“I don’t want to be specific because that puts a cross on the forehead of the new coach,” he answered when asked what the new coach needs to do better. “I don’t want to be specific about what a new coach ought to be or not to be doing.

“When we go through the process of appointing a new coach, those new coaches will clearly present their plans and the way in which they go about coaching.”