Scott Robertson's win stats highlight weight of All Blacks expectation

Scott Robertson has left his position as All Blacks head coach after 27 Tests at the helm with a win percentage of 74%.

The Crusaders legend was appointed on a four-year deal in March 2024, which would have taken him through to the end of Rugby World Cup 2027 had he not parted company with the team with only half of his term served.

Following a deep dive into the All Blacks’ performance in 2025, the New Zealand Rugby Union came to a unanimous decision that it was best to cut ties with Robertson now, denying him the chance to add the senior World Cup to the junior one he claimed as head coach of the Baby Blacks in 2025.

Some have called it a ‘ballsy decision’, others – certainly his peers in the coaching world – would regard it as ruthless. Most of them, after all, would have killed for a Test record where nearly three-quarters of games were won.

Robertson, 51, began his tenure as head coach with unconvincing 16-15 victory over England in Dunedin in July 2024 and also ended it on a winning note when the All Blacks beat Wales 52-26 in Cardiff in November.

A comparison of Test Coaches during Scott Robertson’s tenure, 6 July 2024 – 15 January 2026: pic.twitter.com/LbHSGLYHW6

— Rugby Database Stats & Info (@nzrugbydatabase) January 16, 2026

During his time in charge of the team, only Rassie Erasmus had a better win record than Robertson (85%, with 22 wins from 26 Tests). But the humiliating home loss to the Springboks in last year’s Rugby Championship was a stain that the NZRU management couldn’t ignore, nor an empty trophy cabinet, save for the dust-gathering Bledisloe Cup.

Behind Erasmus and Robinson, England’s Steve Borthwick and Fiji’s Mick Byrne came in joint-third, having won two-thirds of their 18 Tests in charge of their respective teams, according to the New Zealand-based website, Rugby Database.

Borthwick’s record is the more impressive, though, as he masterminded a run of 11 straight wins in 2025 – all against top 12-ranked opposition, except the USA, while Fiji have only claimed victories against teams outside of the top 10.

Six Nations Grand Slam-winning coach, Fabien Galthié, might have challenged Borthwick and Byrne for third spot had Les Bleus not chosen to send a second/third string outfit to New Zealand. The 3-0 series defeat to the All Blacks flattered Robertson’s stats, while at the same time, diminishing the bespecatacled Frenchman’s.

Over the course of Robertson’s reign (6 July, 2024 to 15 January, 2026), Gregor Townsend enjoyed a marginally better win record than his Irish counterpart, Andy Farrell.

Townsend won 12 out of 19 Tests (63%), while Farrell only oversaw 13 – due to spending a year out of post with the British and Irish Lions, winning eight (62%).

Again, you have to take a look at who Scotland played, with the 2024 summer tour to the Americas giving them an almost guaranteed four wins.

Friendly schedules are alien to Argentina, who consistently play against the best teams in the world, and Felipe Contepomi’s win record of 46% doesn’t do him justice, considering Los Pumas achieved historic wins over the Lions and New Zealand.

Italy’s Gonzalo Quesada comes in ninth, with 44%, a fraction ahead of Eddie Jones (43%), while outgoing Wallaby head coach Joe Schmidt mustered just 11 wins from 28 Tests (39%), after overseeing a November whitewash.