‘Sack Ardie Savea!’ – Outspoken pundit calls for All Blacks star to follow Scott Robertson out the door after ‘blackmailing’ NZ Rugby
Ardie Savea and former All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson with an inset of Mark Watson.
Ardie Savea should follow Scott Robertson out the door at New Zealand Rugby.
That is the view of outspoken pundit Mark Watson, who has slammed the All Blacks star who reportedly “blackmailed” the union.
NZ Rugby conducted a comprehensive review of the 2025 international season before reaching the verdict that head coach Robertson should be ushered out, as the team is not on track for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
All Blacks’ failings
During the review, the board and the high-performance department consulted several players, one of whom was understood to have been centurion Savea.
A report by the New Zealand Herald a day before the announcement of Robertson’s sacking, stated that Savea was one of the players who was ‘seriously unhappy’ with the current coaching set-up.
It further stated that Savea was considering his future in New Zealand if changes weren’t made, with the loose forward supposedly looking at potentially remaining in Japan beyond the current season or even moving to Leinster – which would make him ineligible for All Blacks’ selection ahead of and during the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Watson, who has been calling for Robertson to be axed for some time now, has accused Savea of blackmailing New Zealand Rugby and believes that new chairman David Kirk should lay down the law and show the All Blacks star the door.
“Let’s say they have decided that 70 or 80% of the All Blacks’ failings go down to the coaching, it lands on Scott Robertson and his other coaches,” Watson said on The DSPN live show with Martin Devlin.
“Well, some of it also needs to fall on the players. Now, do a review, ask the hard questions. In that review, as a player, you answer those questions, and you’re honest and if you want to be brutally honest, be brutal. But do not have a caveat on the end of it where you then go, ‘Oh, by the way, if you don’t get rid of him, I’m gone, and I’m going to stay overseas.’
“Now, that’s sort of what has been reported, and that’s what I’ve sort of heard, pretty much how it sort of played out with some of the senior players or one particular senior player, Ardie Savea, and that’s actually been reported and documented that he wasn’t prepared to play under this coaching group going forward. I don’t like that.
“And for those reasons, I would also sack Ardie Savea. I think you make a statement to the players.
“Feel free to give us all the feedback in the world, but then do not go and blackmail us, which is technically what I’m saying. It’s him or me.
“No player is bigger than the sport.”
Player power is an issue
Watson believes that there a massive issue with the power the All Blacks players have and made the shocking statement that Savea should also be sacked, a view that Devlin disagreed with.
“Absolutely. I understand that. But hey, let’s not throw everything out here,” the show’s host remarked in his response.
“You’re still talking about one of the best players in the world. And not only that, he’s enormously popular, mate.
“I mean, you imagine what the public reaction would be if that were the case. Come on.”
Watson snapped back: “But you’ve got to make a statement on this player power. Last year, we had TJ Perenara hijacking the damn Haka to put forward his political viewpoints, and nothing was said or done.
“We’ve got players deciding to just up and go and do these sabbaticals.”
Devlin argued that was under the previous New Zealand Rugby board’s regime, and Kirk has shown that things have changed with Robertson becoming the first coach to be actively pushed out of the role, with the previous boss’ stepping down once their contracts concluded.
“I think that David Kirk is signalling here that this is a different administration,” he said.
Watson persisted: “That’s what I’m saying, make a signal, make a point. It is significant as well.”
Opinion: The man who ‘fits’ All Blacks reality and should replace ‘robotic’ Robertson
Ruthless David Kirk
Still, the experienced pundit was pleased to see that the board did make the “right decision” to dismiss Robertson, noting that it was a shift from the norm and a positive one.
“Look, first and foremost, it’s a big call, one of the biggest news sports stories over the last 20 years here in New Zealand. I can’t remember an All Black coach ever being sacked,” he added.
“I’ve had a lot of dealings with Scott Robertson with my time in the media over the years prior to him being an All Black coach and look, a good guy, good man, quirky, loves the surfing, great family man, good fella by all accounts, but when you become the All Blacks coach, all of that gets put to one side.
“This is now a results-driven industry, and it’s amazing. I think professional sport in New Zealand, for a long time, has been at about 95%, and the part that we’ve never really bought into is coach accountability.
“The fact that it is a performance-driven industry. We’ve got too caught up in personality; it’s such a small country. There are so many conflicts of interest, and he’s such a nice guy, and I think upsetting people has always been really hard for New Zealanders to do.
“David Kirk’s come in here and he’s been absolutely ruthless, which I think is a good sign for going forward. But going back to Scott Robertson, I think, he’s going to need a lot of people around him; we are dealing with human people.
“Sometimes you need to remind people that they are human beings and that you need to humanise them at times. I’ve been calling for Scott Robertson to be sacked for the last 12 months.”
Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust.
READ MORE: ‘Gutted’ Scott Robertson’s parting words after All Blacks’ dismissal
