Blunted Razor

All Blacks lacked an edge but sacking Robertson does not guarantee revival

- Robert Kitson

Scott Robertson won 20 of his 27 Tests as New Zealand head coach but that was not enough to keep him in the job

(PHIL WALTER/GETTY IMAGES)

A keen surfer Scott Robertson is well aware how abruptly situations can change. One minute you are riding the perfect wave, the next you're being dumped from a great height and having your world tipped upside down. Which is essentially how “Razor” will now be feeling after being ousted as All Blacks head coach barely two years into his tenure.

On the surface he was everything New Zealand rugby could have wished for. The serial domestic winner who had guided the Crusaders to seven successive Super Rugby titles, the empathetic everyman with the break-dancing skills to match. If anyone could connect with younger generations and encourage everyone to fall in love with the ABs again, surely he was da man?

Instead he has been swallowed up and spat out after only 27 Tests. An internal review into the All Blacks’ problematic year uncorked a torrent of salty feedback that proved impossible to ignore. New Zealand Rugby’s chair, David Kirk, sought to dampen reports that the All Blacks’ best player, Ardie Savea, had threatened to jump ship if Robertson remained but the swiftness of the union’s response, despite currently having no permanent chief executive in place, suggested player unrest was indeed a factor.