Scott Robertson Sacked: Pundit Slams NZ Rugby as 'Clowns'

Prominent Kiwi pundit Scott Stevenson has slammed New Zealand Rugby’s decision to sack All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson, labelling the union a ‘pack of clowns’. Stevenson, an experienced broadcaster and journalist, returned to host his Sport Nations show on Tuesday and provided his reaction to the dismissal of the coach. And he certainly didn’t bite his tongue, lashing out at the manner in which the review of the 2025 season was conducted, adding that he believes that it was a ‘hit job’ to get Robertson out of the role. Wayne Smith’s absence from the review process Before launching his epic rant on the decision, Stevenson remarked that New Zealand Rugby are ‘a pack of clowns’ and centred his opening comments around Sir Wayne Smith’s interview with the New Zealand Herald. “Unfortunately, Razor hasn’t been given more time, greater opportunity to adapt and overcome many of the challenges new All Blacks coaches face. I feel sad about that – for Razor and our game,” Smith told the publication. “They obviously feel that the win percentages wasn’t going to improve, although that is just guesswork.” Stevenson took issue with the fact that Smith was not involved in the review process of the season. “I’ve been intrigued, actually, following the news coverage of this because it was very apparent to me that a lot of people swung in right behind New Zealand Rugby’s PR machine on this review,” Stevenson began. “Whether it was actually a review or not, I think there are questions to be asked. Intriguing for me is a story the Herald quoting Wayne Smith – who if I’m not mistaken, has a contractual role with New Zealand Rugby as a Mr. Fix-it, a rugby consultant, the doctor of the game – who spent time inside their camp last year with the All Blacks, who’s supposed to be the guy who knows all about winning teams about how coaches are operating, how teams are going. “And he said, ‘I’m blindsided by this, I had no idea’. “So he obviously wasn’t asked anything, which astounds me because apparently he’s the guy that New Zealand Rugby leans on all the time when they want answers about performance and when they want solutions. So he has no idea. “So your wide-ranging review does not involve your foremost expert on the game? That’s astonishing to me. And read between the lines on that, if you will. And his comments are very supportive of Robertson. “This is not about whether you believe in Scott Robertson, the All Black coach. It’s whether you want to believe in due process and following processes, and whether you want to believe that a fair process has been run here. A definitive one, for sure, which leads me to believe that they wanted him gone, went through a pantomime act to get the result.” All Blacks: Brodie Retallick’s ‘weird’ verdict on potential Scott Robertson replacement Scott Robertson ‘gagged’ The Sports Nation host added that Robertson has been ‘gagged’ from making any comments to the media, with the now-former head coach remaining mum after a brief statement was issued via NZ Rugby. According to Stevenson, the assistant coaches had no knowledge of Robertson being sacked before the official statement was released, and the same was true for some senior players, while several board members had no idea what the Chairman would say. “I’ve heard some clowns demanding Scott Robertson front and be interviewed. I mean, it’s obvious to me that a part of the severance and a part of this agreement, he’s been gagged,” he continued. “So New Zealand Rugby get to front a press conference. The chairman of New Zealand Rugby fronts a press conference… I’m led to believe that members of the senior executive of New Zealand had no idea what he was going to say in that press conference, by the way. “I’m also led to believe that senior members of the All Blacks had no idea, until half an hour before David Kirk fronted a press conference, that they were sacking the coach. Richie Mo’unga’s stance following Scott Robertson’s sacking while All Blacks legend issues ‘time is done’ verdict “Now, tell me how you get from let’s run a robust fair review system to the chairman of New Zealand Rugby standing up, essentially saying goodbye to Scott Robertson with so few people in the picture. Assistant coaches didn’t know. “I wouldn’t expect him to throw his toys. But what I’m saying is there can only be one reason why Scott Robertson would not be fronting here, and that’s because New Zealand Rugby have said it’s the terms of your departure that you do not say anything. “Tell me I’m wrong, I’m prepared, if New Zealand Rugby want to say that that’s not the case, then come and say it. Otherwise, I’m just going to make the assumption that that’s part and parcel of what’s happened here. “But I would love to know how many players were involved in this review, because I’m going to say to you for fact, it wasn’t all of them. What questions were asked? And how now you’ve got the situation where your foremost rugby expert [Smith], the guy you contract to consult on rugby, says he saw good things about the coaches. “But David Kirk, the chairman of New Zealand Rugby, a man who hasn’t played the game in three and a half decades, seems to know more about that than Wayne Smith.” Scott Robertson sacked! 15 coaches the All Blacks could turn to to right the ship Player revolt Reports emerged prior to the official announcement that Ardie Savea had expressed his displeasure in working with Robertson and threatened to end his international career and sign a deal in Japan if he wasn’t sacked. It was rumoured that a player revolt played a central role in the board’s decision, which Kirk denied. However, Stevenson has called ‘bulls**t’. “So you’re telling me that certain players haven’t led this? I’m calling bulls**t. Certain players have led this. And those players have the ear of some very influential people and this to me looks like a massive hit job,” he added. “Until we get more details on how this process was run and we never will, that’s what it looks like to me, and I cannot believe the ease with which people have just… swum into the slipstream of the public relations output from New Zealand Ruby. I can’t believe it. “In my experience, following the game, broadcasting the game, writing on the game, talking about the game, I have not once heard of anyone who has left New Zealand Rugby with good things to say. What does that tell you? What does that tell you about the organisation, about the structure of the organisation? Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for world-class coverage you can trust. “Dave Rennie has been mentioned in dispatches; it’s not as if Dave Rennie left New Zealand Rugby on good terms. Look at the way they treated this guy. Look at the way they treated him after the Chiefs scandal. He was gagged, too.” Staying on the players, he continued: “Are we really talking about a vintage crop of All Black talent here? You want to talk about coaches? Are we really talking about a vintage crop of players? There are so many angles to this. “So many people who might want to be putting their hands up before the coach gets stabbed in the chest and the back and kicked out the door. We’ve spoken for the last two seasons about performances. Name one. Name one in your World XV… “So is this really about a trajectory towards winning a World Cup, or is this about a situation where a cabal of people, personalities, players, administrators, influential people in the game have decided ‘Don’t like it, want to change.'”