Vern Cotter not in running for All Blacks with Australia move confirmed

Vern Cotter’s coaching future has been confirmed, and it’s not with the All Blacks or any international outfit.

Despite the former Scotland and Fiji coach ticking all the boxes New Zealand Rugby set out in Monday’s head coach appointment update, Cotter is sticking within Super Rugby and taking over Les Kiss’s current post with the Queensland Reds next season.

Kiss, who assumes the reins as Wallabies head coach midway through the year, has improved the Reds’ fortunes during the regular season since returning from 15 years in Europe, but has been stumped by the club’s quarter-final curse in both of his seasons at Ballymore.

Cotter also returned to Super Rugby in 2024 after nearly two decades away, but his arrival in Auckland triggered a dramatic revitalisation of the Blues and ultimately led to the club’s first Super Rugby title since 2003 (excluding Covid-affected competitions).

The Blues said in a statement Tuesday that Cotter’s exit is a managed transition and that the appointment process to find his successor is already underway.

“This has been part of a long-term strategy, and both Vern and the club felt it was the right thing to be open and clear before the season begins,” he said.

“We hugely appreciate everything Vern has done and continues to do for the club. He has delivered exactly what he was brought in to do. The Blues have a strong performance environment, clear DNA of how we want to play and know what it takes to be champions,” said new Blues CEO Karl Budge, before emphasising Cotter’s dedication to the campaign at hand.

“Vern is 100 per cent focused on the job at hand.

“He is deeply invested in this playing group and this organisation, and that does not change. We know he will continue to lead with the same professionalism and drive that have defined his time here.”

The change casts more uncertainty over the coaching landscape in New Zealand, with Scott Robertson’s All Blacks coaching group still contracted in their respective roles despite the head coach’s exit, and awaiting their fate, which lies in the hands of the yet-to-be-appointed new head coach.

Should Robertson’s cohort – Jason Ryan, Scott Hansen, and Tamati Ellison – be relieved of their All Blacks duties by a coach looking for a clean canvas, the vacancy at Blues HQ could present a timely return to the workforce. The timing of the respective appointments, however, may not align.

As it stands, Daniel Halangahu, Jason O’Halloran, Craig McGrath, and Paul Tito operate as assistant coaches under Cotter at the Blues.