All Blacks 2026
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Head Coach: Jamie Joseph
Attack Coach: Tony Brown
Defence Coach: Dave Rennie
Forwards/Set Piece: Vern Cotter
Technical/Game Management Advisor: Joe SchmidtThat's the ideal set-up IMO. Will probably need a skills & scrum coach also.
And a good mental skills coach seeing how fragile some are.
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@hikastags said in All Blacks 2026:
And a good mental skills coach seeing how fragile some are.
Hmm, a tall glass of harden the fuck up juice would be good.
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GP quoted
“Robertson had previously told me – and many others in the rugby fraternity – he operated as the culture coach, something I’d written several times before that week in Cardiff.
But on the previous occasions I had written that, it was packaged as part of a high-performance rejig that Robertson had sold to the All Blacks appointment committee when he interviewed for the job in early-2023.”How the fuck could you buy that.
That appointment committee should be lined up and shot.
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WINNER: Razor’s rejects
It’s become very clear that some players just did not gel with what the Robertson regime was doing.
The likes of Rieko Ioane and Dalton Papali’i both started 2024 as All Blacks regulars, but made way as Robertson’s tenure wore on.
Now with a fresh start, though, the door is open for players to work their way back into contention.
Papali’i in particular is understood to have been very impressive – on and off the field – for the All Blacks XV last year.
Day of the Dalton.
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@Tim said in All Blacks 2026:
WINNER: Razor’s rejects
It’s become very clear that some players just did not gel with what the Robertson regime was doing.
The likes of Rieko Ioane and Dalton Papali’i both started 2024 as All Blacks regulars, but made way as Robertson’s tenure wore on.
Now with a fresh start, though, the door is open for players to work their way back into contention.
Papali’i in particular is understood to have been very impressive – on and off the field – for the All Blacks XV last year.
Day of the Dalton.
Just don't make him captain. An important part of unification will be picking someone the senior players will support unanimously
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Disappointed Razor wasn't successful, but by mid-2025, I had had enough. It was early Foster part 2 on the field, and you could almost predict what was going to happen when the pressure came on. It wasn't the results; it was the same shit every time with no innovation or "trajectory" as has been mentioned. So very happy with the Kirk influence.
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@Landers92 said in All Blacks 2026:
@Tim said in All Blacks 2026:
Think one of the Cantabs on here said that Robertson had a falling out with Brad Mooar? Any other coaches he had major problems with? Seems we are up to three now.
May have some more juicy chat around another coach. Just waiting for confirmation on finer details and if they are sure it’s true I’ll share.
I have no reason to believe this isn’t true and I wouldn’t share it unless i didn’t believe it. Comes from a trusty source.
This isn’t exactly a fall out with another AB coach but it’s still a fall out none the less. Razor and Todd Blackadder have fallen out recently over selections and especially the non selection of Ethan Blackadder. It really makes you wonder what else has gone on behind the scenes that we aren’t aware of.
Doesn’t really feel right sharing that as that’s a bit of a personal matter but hey here I am sharing what I’ve been told anyway lol.
It seems problems may lie further than the rugby field at the moment. I think it reiterates the fact this may in fact have been the correct decision for Razor, not just with rugby but in general. I hope personally the guy is doing ok and has the right people around him.
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So a little side discussion, who thinks this should be the end of Razor's AB career and who's willing to give him another shot?
If he goes away, coaches some other teams successfully, maybe some lower tier teams, obviously outside of the Cantab bubble, then I'd be happy to see him given another shot in the future, he's still a young guy. For reference I've never wanted to see Mitchell anywhere near NZ rugby.
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
Poor form if Todd got the shits because his son didn't get picked. It's not like he was a unanimous pick
Yes, that reflects poorly on T Blackadder. I expected Robertson to select more Crusaders players (e.g., Havili, Christie) so I give credit to him for that.
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Todd Blackadder is the only crusaders coach this century to not win a title with them as well as the only crusaders coach to coach them for multiple seasons without winning a title. If he has a problem with Robertson then I think that's probably a sign Robertson was doing something well.
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@Nepia said in All Blacks 2026:
So a little side discussion, who thinks this should be the end of Razor's AB career and who's willing to give him another shot?
If he goes away, coaches some other teams successfully, maybe some lower tier teams, obviously outside of the Cantab bubble, then I'd be happy to see him given another shot in the future, he's still a young guy. For reference I've never wanted to see Mitchell anywhere near NZ rugby.
Worked for Smith, but Razor would need quite a few years of success elsewhere to get the taint off him. However, he's still a young coach so wouldn't rule it out.
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@Nepia said in All Blacks 2026:
So a little side discussion, who thinks this should be the end of Razor's AB career and who's willing to give him another shot?
If he goes away, coaches some other teams successfully, maybe some lower tier teams, obviously outside of the Cantab bubble, then I'd be happy to see him given another shot in the future, he's still a young guy. For reference I've never wanted to see Mitchell anywhere near NZ rugby.
It’d come down to more than results. Like Mitchell, Robertson hasn’t done a good job off the field, managing players, in interviews etc.
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@canefan said in All Blacks 2026:
Poor form if Todd got the shits because his son didn't get picked. It's not like he was a unanimous pick
I initially read that as unanimous prick and thought to myself that's a bit harsh. Some people thought he was a good player, an honest toiler.
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@Nepia said in All Blacks 2026:
So a little side discussion, who thinks this should be the end of Razor's AB career and who's willing to give him another shot?
If he goes away, coaches some other teams successfully, maybe some lower tier teams, obviously outside of the Cantab bubble, then I'd be happy to see him given another shot in the future, he's still a young guy. For reference I've never wanted to see Mitchell anywhere near NZ rugby.
Never say never, but that would be "lazarus with a triple bypass" type resurrection.
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On Wayne Smith, I do have some concerns that he appears to be a bit stuck in the past, it's been quite a long time since his philosophy has worked in the men's game. His last success was with the women, but that was largely due to the fact that they were going to be overpowered by England, so their only option was to try and throw caution to the wind with a more helter skelter style. To their credit they pulled it off, but that just won't work in the men's game today unless WR makes some drastic changes to speed the game up which isn't going to happen. His influence on Razor's team was either non-existent, or what he suggested didn't work. As much as I love the guy, I'd prefer he wasn't involved in the next AB coaching setup.
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Unfortunately the tide went out on Razor and he wasn’t wearing any pants. I would think he’ll have to go away and prove himself overseas if he wants to coach at a high level in NZ again.
Joseph, Rennie or Schmidt would all provide stability moving forward, a I would be happy with either/or, but people are dreaming if they think this team is suddenly going to become world-beaters. If we can get some consistency, that would be a great start.
And for all those blowing smoke up Papali’i’s ass as if he’s top-class AB’s material, what are you smoking? The guy is the epitome of ‘mid’.
