All Blacks job: Two fan favourites emerge after Scott Robertson’s sacking
Joe Schmidt and Scott Robertson with an inset of Jamie Joseph.
The fans have spoken as to who they want to replace Scott Robertson as the All Blacks head coach.
New Zealand Rugby stunned the world on Thursday, making the unprecedented move to part ways with their head coach just two years into his four-year deal.
Robertson vacates the role after winning 20 of his 27 Test matches in charge of the All Blacks, which translates to a 74% win rate.
That ranks him seventh out of nine head coaches who have overseen 20+ All Blacks Tests, as per Opta.
All Blacks’ coaches records
87% – Steve Hansen (W93 D4 L10)
86% – Alex Wyllie (W25 D1 L3)
85% – Graham Henry (W88 L15)
82% – John Mitchell (W23 D1 L4)
80% – Neil McPhail (W16 D2 L2)
76% – John Hart (W31 D1 L9)
74% – Scott Robertson (W20 L7)
70% – Ian Foster (W32 D2 L12)
68% – Laurie Mains (W23 D1 L10)
Scott Robertson sacked! 15 coaches the All Blacks could turn to to right the ship
Following the news of Robertson’s departure, we asked our readers to vote on who they would like to see in the hotseat in 2026, providing a longlist of 15 potential candidates.
A host of coaches received single-digit percentages of the votes, including the likes of Pat Lam, Sir Steve Hansen, Dave Rennie and Warren Gatland.
However, according to the fans, there are two clear frontrunners in Jamie Joseph and Joe Schmidt – two coaches with a plethora of experience at the highest level.
Joseph has twice missed out on the All Blacks head coaching job, falling short to Ian Foster and Robertson, respectively. The former Japan head coach is currently preparing the Highlanders for the upcoming Super Rugby Pacific season, but will undoubtedly be in the running for one of the top jobs in world rugby.
Meanwhile, Schmidt is contracted with Rugby Australia through to July, but fans believe that NZ Rugby should be moving to get him into the position anyway. The 60-year-old was pivotal in turning things around for the All Blacks in the build-up to the 2023 Rugby World Cup when he joined Forster’s staff as an assistant coach and is held in high regard worldwide and within the squad.
At the time of writing, Joseph holds a 9% lead over Schmidt in the polls, but if you believe that should not be the case, have your say below.
