WITH THE FIRING of All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson overnight, Munster fans will doubtless be getting flashbacks to 2016 when Rassie Erasmus left his post just over a year into his contract to take charge of his national team in South Africa.
Clayton McMillan’s name will certainly feature in New Zealand Rugby’s preliminary conversations in search of Robertson’s successor — the current Munster boss is highly regarded in his homeland having led the previously struggling Chiefs to four Super Rugby finals in five seasons — but he’s unlikely to be the candidate on which the Kiwis ultimately settle.
After all, it ultimately counted for little that Robertson is, in his own right, the most successful coach in the history of Super Rugby. For all his club success, his All Blacks reign descended to chaos behind the scenes, with two assistant coaches departing his setup in the last two years and senior players more recently providing scathing feedback to their union as part of an internal review.
As such, New Zealand Rugby are unlikely to place all of their eggs in the basket of a candidate who lacks previous Test coaching experience. They are more likely to appoint a coach who has, to some extent, already succeeded in the meat-grinder that is top-level international rugby, and they may well supplement this eventual successor with a respected elder in search of stability.
Jamie Joseph arriving in Twickenham as Japan coach in 2022. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
In all likelihood, Jamie Joseph will be the next All Blacks head coach. The 20-cap former All Black is the most glaring contender: his eight years with Japan bred unprecedented success, with sensational pool victories over Ireland and Scotland propelling the Brave Blossoms into a quarter-final at their home World Cup in 2019.
Having previously guided the Highlanders — effectively the poor relation of New Zealand’s five traditional franchises — to a maiden Super Rugby title in 2015, Joseph is currently back in charge of the Otago side.
Universally respected in New Zealand, Joseph already holds a position with his country’s union having been named to replace Munster boss McMillan as head coach of All Blacks XV last year.
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Should New Zealand promote Joseph to the top job, expect them to also do their utmost to prise away from the Springboks his former collaborator, Tony Brown.
Recruited by Rassie Erasmus in 2024 with a view to adding colour to the world champions’ attacking palette, Brown has already made a significant impact in South Africa, with the emergence of out-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu complementing his efforts to expand the Boks’ game.
Brown’s world-renowned attacking expertise was integral to Joseph’s success with Japan and, previously, with the Highlanders. For New Zealand to lure him home from South Africa would double as a body blow to the All Blacks’ bitter rivals 20 months out from the World Cup in Australia, not to mind ahead of this year’s landmark three-Test series in The Rainbow Nation.
Former Highlanders and Japan assistant coach Tony Brown, who currently works with the Springboks. Photosport / Derek Morrison/INPHO
Photosport / Derek Morrison/INPHO / Derek Morrison/INPHO
Were New Zealand unable to secure the services of Brown, they might instead explore a return for Leon MacDonald, who cited creative differences when he departed Razor Robertson’s setup in 2024, just five Tests into his four-year contract.
There could also yet be a role in the next All Blacks ticket for Joe Schmidt, who is in the process of handing over to Wallabies successor Les Kiss ahead of the conclusion of his contract in mid-summer.
Highly regarded by senior New Zealand players, former Ireland boss Schmidt was profoundly influential as Ian Foster’s under-fire All Blacks came within a whisker of winning the 2023 World Cup following several years of under-performance. Many in New Zealand still consider it a mistake that Schmidt wasn’t retained in some capacity when the reins were passed to Robertson.
Schmidt, who cited the need to spend time with his family as cause to leave his post with Australia this year, consequently seems unlikely to contend for a position as full-on as head coach of New Zealand. However, the former World Coach of the Year could surely provide senior counsel to the new man from a lower-key assistant role, perhaps similar to that which he enjoyed in 2021 before being upgraded to Foster’s senior attack coach as a matter of necessity the following year.
Former Ireland head coach and current Australia boss Joe Schmidt. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
Wayne Smith, who was parachuted in to rescue the Black Ferns in 2022 and proceeded to steer them to World Cup glory, could potentially fill a similar niche as a kind of tribal elder in a Joseph-led coaching ticket.
‘The Professor’, now 68, was assistant to Steve Hansen during the All Blacks’ own World Cup titles in 2011 and 2015 and remains a revered figure after three decades at the top of the coaching game.
Similarly, Vern Cotter — currently the head coach of the Blues, with whom he won a Super Rugby title in 2024 — could add gravitas from a role such as forwards coach, if indeed he’s not approached for the top job.
Another dark horse for head coach, should New Zealand Rugby veer away from leading candidate Joseph, would be Dave Rennie. The Kiwi’s three-year spell with the Wallabies has aged spectacularly since their nadir under successor Eddie Jones in 2023.
Former Glasgow boss Rennie currently coaches the Kobe Steelers in Japan, whose Kiwi contingent includes All Black loanee Ardie Savea as well as his former Test teammates Brodie Retallick and Anton Lienert-Brown.
Former Wallabies boss Dave Rennie. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Despite insistence to the contrary by current NZ Rugby chair David Kirk, centurion Savea’s thinly veiled threat to defect from the All Blacks ahead of this year’s South Africa tour and next year’s World Cup now reads a lot like the straw that broke Scott Robertson’s back.
“The All Blacks are not on track the way they need to be on track for the 2027 World Cup,” said Kirk, as he explained the union’s decision to part ways with Robertson.
Jamie Joseph, or a different successor, will have just 20 months to right New Zealand’s course before the big show in Australia.
Robertson, meanwhile, is already on head coach-less Harlequins’ radar, according to The Times in Britain. He will have no shortage of suitors given his seven Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders, whose dominance he was ultimately unable to replicate with his national team.
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The obvious candidate and dark horses to replace Razor Robertson as All Blacks head coach
WITH THE FIRING of All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson overnight, Munster fans will doubtless be getting flashbacks to 2016 when Rassie Erasmus left his post just over a year into his contract to take charge of his national team in South Africa.
Clayton McMillan’s name will certainly feature in New Zealand Rugby’s preliminary conversations in search of Robertson’s successor — the current Munster boss is highly regarded in his homeland having led the previously struggling Chiefs to four Super Rugby finals in five seasons — but he’s unlikely to be the candidate on which the Kiwis ultimately settle.
After all, it ultimately counted for little that Robertson is, in his own right, the most successful coach in the history of Super Rugby. For all his club success, his All Blacks reign descended to chaos behind the scenes, with two assistant coaches departing his setup in the last two years and senior players more recently providing scathing feedback to their union as part of an internal review.
As such, New Zealand Rugby are unlikely to place all of their eggs in the basket of a candidate who lacks previous Test coaching experience. They are more likely to appoint a coach who has, to some extent, already succeeded in the meat-grinder that is top-level international rugby, and they may well supplement this eventual successor with a respected elder in search of stability.
In all likelihood, Jamie Joseph will be the next All Blacks head coach. The 20-cap former All Black is the most glaring contender: his eight years with Japan bred unprecedented success, with sensational pool victories over Ireland and Scotland propelling the Brave Blossoms into a quarter-final at their home World Cup in 2019.
Having previously guided the Highlanders — effectively the poor relation of New Zealand’s five traditional franchises — to a maiden Super Rugby title in 2015, Joseph is currently back in charge of the Otago side.
Universally respected in New Zealand, Joseph already holds a position with his country’s union having been named to replace Munster boss McMillan as head coach of All Blacks XV last year.
Should New Zealand promote Joseph to the top job, expect them to also do their utmost to prise away from the Springboks his former collaborator, Tony Brown.
Recruited by Rassie Erasmus in 2024 with a view to adding colour to the world champions’ attacking palette, Brown has already made a significant impact in South Africa, with the emergence of out-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu complementing his efforts to expand the Boks’ game.
Brown’s world-renowned attacking expertise was integral to Joseph’s success with Japan and, previously, with the Highlanders. For New Zealand to lure him home from South Africa would double as a body blow to the All Blacks’ bitter rivals 20 months out from the World Cup in Australia, not to mind ahead of this year’s landmark three-Test series in The Rainbow Nation.
Were New Zealand unable to secure the services of Brown, they might instead explore a return for Leon MacDonald, who cited creative differences when he departed Razor Robertson’s setup in 2024, just five Tests into his four-year contract.
There could also yet be a role in the next All Blacks ticket for Joe Schmidt, who is in the process of handing over to Wallabies successor Les Kiss ahead of the conclusion of his contract in mid-summer.
Highly regarded by senior New Zealand players, former Ireland boss Schmidt was profoundly influential as Ian Foster’s under-fire All Blacks came within a whisker of winning the 2023 World Cup following several years of under-performance. Many in New Zealand still consider it a mistake that Schmidt wasn’t retained in some capacity when the reins were passed to Robertson.
Schmidt, who cited the need to spend time with his family as cause to leave his post with Australia this year, consequently seems unlikely to contend for a position as full-on as head coach of New Zealand. However, the former World Coach of the Year could surely provide senior counsel to the new man from a lower-key assistant role, perhaps similar to that which he enjoyed in 2021 before being upgraded to Foster’s senior attack coach as a matter of necessity the following year.
Wayne Smith, who was parachuted in to rescue the Black Ferns in 2022 and proceeded to steer them to World Cup glory, could potentially fill a similar niche as a kind of tribal elder in a Joseph-led coaching ticket.
‘The Professor’, now 68, was assistant to Steve Hansen during the All Blacks’ own World Cup titles in 2011 and 2015 and remains a revered figure after three decades at the top of the coaching game.
Similarly, Vern Cotter — currently the head coach of the Blues, with whom he won a Super Rugby title in 2024 — could add gravitas from a role such as forwards coach, if indeed he’s not approached for the top job.
Another dark horse for head coach, should New Zealand Rugby veer away from leading candidate Joseph, would be Dave Rennie. The Kiwi’s three-year spell with the Wallabies has aged spectacularly since their nadir under successor Eddie Jones in 2023.
Former Glasgow boss Rennie currently coaches the Kobe Steelers in Japan, whose Kiwi contingent includes All Black loanee Ardie Savea as well as his former Test teammates Brodie Retallick and Anton Lienert-Brown.
Despite insistence to the contrary by current NZ Rugby chair David Kirk, centurion Savea’s thinly veiled threat to defect from the All Blacks ahead of this year’s South Africa tour and next year’s World Cup now reads a lot like the straw that broke Scott Robertson’s back.
“The All Blacks are not on track the way they need to be on track for the 2027 World Cup,” said Kirk, as he explained the union’s decision to part ways with Robertson.
Jamie Joseph, or a different successor, will have just 20 months to right New Zealand’s course before the big show in Australia.
Robertson, meanwhile, is already on head coach-less Harlequins’ radar, according to The Times in Britain. He will have no shortage of suitors given his seven Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders, whose dominance he was ultimately unable to replicate with his national team.
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