Tony Brown: Timing of Scott Robertson's All Blacks exit 'pretty bizarre'

Like most of the rugby world, Tony Brown was caught off guard by New Zealand Rugby’s decision to part ways with Scott Robertson as All Blacks head coach and the ensuing avalanche of interest in his own immediate coaching future.

It has now been confirmed that Brown will see out the remaining two years on his Springboks contract, ensuring his involvement in the 2027 Rugby World Cup for the reigning champions.

Scott Robertson also signed a four-year deal at the beginning of the current rugby World Cup cycle, but it was cut short two years early after a New Zealand Rugby review concluded the team’s trajectory was not up to scratch.

Many fans and pundits have pointed to Robertson’s 74 per cent win rate when calling the divorce harsh, and Brown could only describe it as “pretty bizarre.”

Speaking with Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB, Brown explained his reaction as being due to “the timing around what’s happened and the lack of plan going forward.

“My name is getting thrown in there plenty, but no one’s really talked to me, so I’ve always just been going back to South Africa to finish my contract,” he added.

Brown revealed that he had a conversation with Scott Robertson late last year about joining the All Blacks coaching staff, but was clear that it would not happen during the current cycle.

While Brown and Highlanders boss Jamie Joseph are commonly linked together as something of a one-two punch after their time together in Japan leading the Brave Blossoms, Brown sees himself as an adaptable attack coach who could fit alongside any head coach.

“Razor and I grew up in the New Zealand age-grade teams, and the All Blacks together. We were always quite good mates in those teams. I’ve never coached with him; I don’t have a great insight into how he coaches, but for me personally, I would’ve thought I could coach with anyone.

“I love the game, I love the All Blacks, I love being innovative in and around rugby, I love showing up to training and trying to make teams better.

“I would’ve thought I could coach with anyone, so it wouldn’t have been a massive issue for me.”

Never before has an All Blacks coach been let go mid-cycle, and the historic nature of the 2026 schedule certainly doesn’t offer a soft landing for Robertson’s yet-to-be-appointed replacement.

And yet, New Zealand Rugby were confident this was the safest path forward, with board chair David Kirk saying it would have been a bigger risk not to make a change.

“Everyone says leadership starts from the top, and I suppose New Zealand Rugby Union have got to show the way there, and then I’m not sure about what happened within the All Black environment,” Brown said of the board’s decision.

“They didn’t seem as though they were playing overly poorly. There’s a few up and down results, but they seemed like they were tracking okay and to then just pull stumps and get rid of the head coach has put them in a pretty massive situation around getting ready for 2026, which is going to be a massive year not only for the All Blacks, but for World Rugby as a whole with the new (Nations) Championship that they’re running.”

With a legacy as one of the sports world’s great teams, the All Blacks’ unconvincing form has led to plenty of chatter around their infamous “aura” slipping away. Brown, however, rejected that notion outright, responding, “No way”, when the question was put to him.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for someone, the next coach who’s coming in, whoever that may be. I think the players will probably be excited about starting again and seeing what they can do, building into the 2027 World Cup.

“I think the coach is going to have a little bit of a clean canvas and be able to do some pretty cool things around getting the All Blacks not only through the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (tour) and end-of-year tour, but also getting them ready to have a crack at the World Cup.”