All Blacks: Scott Robertson set for New Zealand Rugby ‘interrogation’ as judgement day beckons after another underwhelming season
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson and players dejected after Springboks loss.
All Blacks boss Scott Robertson will know by the end of January the outcome of a review which will determine his fate and that of his coaching staff.
New Zealand have endured another mediocre season by their high standards by failing to regain the Rugby Championship title and losing to England on their Grand Slam tour.
Pressure is increasing on head coach Robertson, who has not been able to ignite this All Blacks side since taking over following the conclusion of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
He has also seen two of his backroom staff depart in attack guru Leon MacDonald and backs coach Jason Holland.
New Zealand Rugby review
As is always the case after the end of every Test season, New Zealand Rugby will do its review, speaking to the players and coaches, and feed back to them in late January.
There has been no suggestion that Robertson’s job is under threat, but the details of their findings will be instructive as to where he and the team stand heading into the 2026 campaign.
“People are gathering it, they gather it, but in the new year that is when all the information is disseminated out,” the head coach told reporters.
“That is when all the information will be delivered and then we have an All Blacks camp, which we normally do… and all that information will be had by the end of January.
“We have someone that travels with us the whole time that’s reviewing. There’s online stuff and then there’s also the group stuff that they do, when you sit down one-on-one, you talk to all the leaders and give feedback.
“There’s a personal touch to it as well, so it’s all been gathered, which will also be with the online stuff, with on-field, off-field and everything that comes with it.
“We do it three or four times a year, so it’s thorough. It’s pretty much an interrogation, right from the top to the bottom.
“It’s a great tool for us to get feedback as coaches and the whole group, from the players and all the management.”
All Blacks progress under Razor
Robertson was also asked about the progress of the side in his online press conference, having overseen seven defeats in the past two years.
While they will end 2025 with 10 victories in 13, they did not achieve what was expected of them at the start of the season.
The All Blacks boss remains positive, however, saying: “There’s some really good competition in the squad, there’s a lot of depth in our squad. This year we had the most injuries we’ve ever had as an All Blacks squad, so it did create opportunities for other players.
“But also, we left a lot of guys at home, so the opportunity for guys to tour builds our depth, builds competition. There’s a good side to that but you also know you’ve got a good crop coming through when they’re physically fit to build that depth.
“We feel like with our four-deep we’re starting to get there and we’ve got another Super Rugby competition for someone to come in and player really well, and put pressure on the current side and pick themselves for the All Blacks next year.”
