All Blacks Jordie Barrett, Ruben Love, Cam Roigard react to coach Scott Robertson’s sudden exit

Wednesday, 28 January 2026

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, flanked by Jordie and Scott Barrett after the test against France in Hamilton.

Summer finally arrived in Wellington on Wednesday, and with it a procession of smiling Hurricanes in their new polos, hopes high for an overdue run at the Super Rugby Pacific title.

First, though, there was the Razor question to tick off.

Almost exactly a fortnight since news broke of coach Scott Robertson’s sudden departure from the top job, a lineup of All Blacks were made available for pre-season interviews at the Hurricanes’ training base at NZCIS in Upper Hutt.

The most senior of them, Jordie Barrett, played a lot more shots in the recent Black Clash T20 cricket match and, unsurprisingly, kept his cards close when asked about Robertson’s sacking which came after a review into the All Blacks with input from players.

“It’s certainly been an interesting month with the way things have progressed. I’m not going to delve into those findings (of the review) and the process,” Barrett said.

“A lot has happened in a short amount of time. I’m just rapt to be wearing a Hurricanes polo today and looking forward to a big Super season.”

And that was that. A later follow-up about whether the players should take some responsibility for Robertson’s departure due to their on-field performances was met with: “I won’t be going into any questions about Razor, sorry.”

All Black Ruben Love: “I have a lot of respect for Razor” (file photo).

Fair enough.

Eight Hurricanes were on last year’s northern tour: Barrett, Ruben Love, Billy Proctor, Jordie Barrett, Cam Roigard, Peter Lakai, Du’Plessis Kirifi, Tevita Mafileo and Pasilio Tosi.

Love was one player who seemed to get a raw deal selection-wise, with the gifted fullback/first-five only used sparingly as the All Blacks fell short of a prized grand slam.

He was complimentary and considered when asked about Robertson on Wednesday.

“It’s been huge (news). I have a lot of respect for Razor and one thing I admire about him is his ability to bring a team together through culture, and I think we share similar morals in terms of being family orientated,” Love said.

“I respect him, for every time you speak about his family his eyes light up. I wish him all the best. That’s just how the job goes. It’s probably the hardest job in New Zealand, and I thought he was great.”

All Blacks halfback Cam Roigard runs in a try against the Wallabies.

Was the news a surprise? “Yeah, initially it was. You can never expect anything like that. I’m a player, I’m not part of that coaching set-up. I’ve got a lot of respect for him and I hope whatever he does, I know he’ll be sweet because he’s an intelligent man.”

Halfback Roigard had some big news of his own to discuss: his re-signing to New Zealand Rugby on a deal through to 2029.

One of the All Blacks’ standouts and central figure in their bid for the 2027 World Cup - whoever the new coach may be - Roigard also felt for Robertson who is yet to grant an interview on his shock departure.

“Thinking about him as a person, you could tell right from when I first met him that he cared about the team massively,” Roigard said.

“For it to end up that way, you just feel for him. And making sure that he’s all right as a person. I don’t really want to get into the details or comment too much. Firstly I hope that he’s OK and whatever he gets up to next, I’m sure he’ll be successful.

“He’s a great guy and I got along with him really well. It’s just part of sport.”

The Hurricanes play their first pre-season match against the Blues in Auckland on Friday, with none of the above All Blacks available. Most, if not all, are down to get game time against the Chiefs at Porirua Park on Saturday, February 7.