All Blacks coach announcement date set as conspiracy accuses Rassie Erasmus of misinformation over Scott Robertson’s sacking
Ex-All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson and an inset of Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus.
Ex-All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson is already on the hunt for his next opportunity after parting ways with New Zealand Rugby, according to reports.
The former Crusaders boss was shockingly dismissed early this year with NZ Rugby stating that the All Blacks ‘weren’t on track’ for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, following an extensive review of the 2025 international season.
Since then, ex-All Blacks Keven Mealamu, Dane Coles, head of high performance Don Tricker, acting NZR chief executive Steve Lancaster, and chairman David Kirk have begun the search for who will be Robertson’s successor.
The next coach
When advertising the vacancy, the union set out strict requirements with prospective coaches needing to be a New Zealander and have international head coach experience. This significantly limited the options, particularly when the likes of Joe Schmidt, Vern Cotter, and John Mitchell all ruled themselves out of the running.
Dave Rennie and Jamie Joseph both meet the criteria and are viewed as the two frontrunners, while it is widely reported that NZ Rugby reached out to Ian Foster and Sir Steve Hansen, asking the duo to also apply for the position.
The likes of Warren Gatland, Wayne Pivac and Kieran Crowley all meet the job requirements too, but it’s unclear if any of the trio have put their names forward.
But all will be revealed next week, according to broadcaster Martin Devlin.
“Hearing that new @AllBlacks coach will be announced next week. No point doing it this week bcos @NZRugby wouldn’t want to take shine off SR opening round. It’s only intel .. but sometimes we do get it right,” he wrote on social media platform X.
Ex-All Blacks star backs ‘old school’ coach over Dave Rennie to replace Scott Robertson
Where to next for Robertson
Meanwhile, the New Zealand Herald reports that Robertson has moved quickly to find his next job with his representatives reaching out to the Queensland Reds to inquire about the head coach job, with Les Kiss taking over from Schmidt later this year. At the time, Cotter had not been announced as Kiss’ successor.
The report adds that it is understood that Robertson’s name was also put forward at PREM Rugby club Harlequins, who are in search of a director of rugby following Danny Wilson’s departure before the opening weekend of the new season.
The agreement struck between NZ Rugby and Robertson to facilitate his departure included a restraint of trade with the former All Blacks coach unable to join a tier one international team for 12 months. However, there is a break clause where he could join a top team once the All Blacks have played that nation this year.
That could put Scotland on Razor’s radar with Gregor Townsend under the cosh, particularly after the Six Nations round one defeat, but the All Blacks will only face the Scots in November. Glasgow Warriors boss Franco Smith is also seen as the frontrunner for the job if the Scottish Rugby Union do decide to terminate Townsend’s contract early.
Robertson has made no secret about his intentions to coach two teams at a Rugby World Cup and will be eager to still achieve part one of that goal this cycle, and while the tier one route looks largely blocked for the time being, he could be recruited by a tier two nation. World Rugby often make funds available to the smaller nations to hire an assistant for the global tournament, which could be a route for the seven-time Super Rugby-winning coach.
Springboks conspiracy theory
However, the Herald have also tabled an outrageous ‘far-fetched’ idea that he could join the Springboks coaching team under Rassie Erasmus.
“As unlikely as that sounds, there are several factors that make it plausible, the first and most compelling of which is that it would be straight out of Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus’s playbook to hire Robertson later this year to try to spook the All Blacks,” respected journalist Gregor Paul wrote.
“Erasmus is rugby’s most creative and innovative thinker, and he knows that with the Springboks destined to meet the All Blacks in the quarterfinal of next year’s tournament, how unsettling it would be for New Zealand to have a narrative running about their former coach having switched sides.”
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While Paul describes this as the ‘longest of Hollywood long shots’, he suggests that it might not be that absurd with a working conspiracy theory stating that Erasmus was leaking information on Robertson’s dismissal to Ireland.
The Irish Independent was the first publication to break the news of Robertson’s sacking and followed it up with precise details of New Zealand Rugby’s process.
It’s theorised that Erasmus is somehow plugged into the New Zealand network and used connections from his time with Munster to work an agenda that ‘destabilises’ the All Blacks.
Paul states that the player power and threat of a revolt led by Ardie Savea is ‘one of the many red herrings being espoused’, adding that ‘peddling mis-information about player power and then hiring Robertson seems like an excellent way for the Springboks to unsettle the All Blacks.’
