Jake White claims ‘big questions to be answered’ over Scott Robertson’s future after ‘one of the poorest win records’

Former Springboks boss Jake White says that the pressure is building on Scott Robertson, but hopes that New Zealand Rugby will stick by him.

The Crusaders legend, who took over from Ian Foster, has endured a mixed time in charge, but there was severe criticism following their record 43-10 defeat to South Africa last weekend.

It was the All Blacks’ second reversal of 2025 after they made more unwanted history last month, this time in Argentina, when they went down to Los Pumas in South America for the first time.

Six losses under Robertson

In total, including his first year as New Zealand head coach, Robertson has presided over six defeats in just over 12 months.

“There’s no doubt Scott Robertson deserved his shot at the All Blacks hot seat,” White wrote in his RugbyPass column.

“He won seven Super Rugby competitions in a row, but he’s lost six Tests in his first 21 as All Blacks coach, and that would have to be one of the poorest win records of any All Blacks coach.

“There are big questions to be answered. Can the All Blacks and their fans publicly accept that 43-10 loss? What will happen if they lose that Eden Park record to Australia?

“Traditionally, they have backed their coaches, but will they be forced to consider change? You hope not.”

Eddie Jones slams ‘absolutely rubbish’ Scott Robertson criticism after record All Blacks defeat

While poor results inevitably pile the pressure on the head coach, White believes that the governing body must be blamed for some of their decision-making over the past few years.

The ex-Springboks boss particularly criticised NZR for how they treated Foster and his assistant coaches, who were sacked in July 2022.

‘Unprecedented’

“The NZRU are traditionally very loyal, and they will always do things the right way, but in my opinion, they erred by appointing Scott Robertson while Ian Foster was in post, and they also put pressure on Foster to get rid of Brad Mooar and John Plumtree, which was unprecedented in my memory,” White wrote.

“It didn’t sit right with me. Why? Because when you apply for the All Blacks job, you have to put forward a detailed presentation of your philosophy and vision for how you can take the team forward, but you will also go into detail about your coaching staff, their backgrounds and why they are the right fit for the job. Those contracts would have been signed off at the highest level.

“Recent events tell us they let Tony Brown slip through their fingers, and he’s gone to their biggest rivals and improved them. The ironic thing is now Kiwi fans are saying, ‘How did we let him get away?’

“All of a sudden people are questioning whether Scott Robertson is the right man, but it is a collective responsibility at NZRU. It’s not all down to the head coach to fix everything.”

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