The New Zealand All Blacks have long been considered the most successful sports team in history. Boasting a historic win rate of over 76%, winners of three Rugby World Cup titles (1987, 2011 and 2015), and holding the number 1 World Ranking for the longest period all point to a team, and brand, that is unrivalled.
The problem for the All Blacks (ABs) is that the wheels are slowly coming off, and the recent sacking of coach Scott Robertson has hastened the impression that things are not all rosy in the antipodes, and that rivals are numerous.
Robertson’s main problem was the weight of expectation. He was sacked with a record of 20 wins from 27 test matches, which is superior to both Ireland and England during the same period. When relieved of his post, his team sat number 2 in the World Rankings and were finalists at the most recent World Cup. In a highly competitive global sport like rugby union, almost every other side in the world would be envious of that position – but not New Zealand.
Having dominated the world game for so many decades, while building up a brand and reputation second to none, in recent years that domination has started to diminish. The mantle of best in the world has most certainly moved over to the South African Springboks, current back-to-back World Champions and number 1 in the world rankings. This changing of the guard was perfectly illustrated in September, when South Africa beat the ABs 43-10 in their own back yard.
While New Zealand is still rugby mad, societal and economic changes, along with some own goals, have become major factors that have precipitated the decline. With a population of 5 million, New Zealand has always had a significantly smaller player pool than the likes of South Africa, England and France. New Zealand has also not been immune to the growing globalisation of football. In 2024, football was recognised as the largest participation sport in NZ, with 170,000 registered players. While rugby remains the most culturally dominant sport, when it comes to sheer numbers, football has overtaken it. Much of this increase has been put down to the safety dangers inherent in rugby, with new generation parents favouring football for their children.
Rugby union in NZ is also under attack from rugby league, with the mighty Australian NRL competition already having one NZ-based team and reports stating it is aiming to establish a second one shortly. Rugby league at provincial and club level currently has the financial clout to attract union players, and this is due mainly to decisions that rugby union administrators have made.
Sporting structures are regularly tinkered with to extract additional income, with a prime example being the Fifa Club World Cup. Having previously boasted a competitive and highly attractive Super Rugby competition, the Southern Hemisphere’s competition structure has been significantly weakened with the loss of South African provincial teams, with those now playing, bizarrely, in the European Cup and the United Rugby Championship. This has led to NZ’s teams facing less competitive fixtures, demeaning the product and reducing the opportunity for its players to match themselves against the best on a regular basis.
In a bid to try and inject some much-needed finance into the NZ rugby coffers, this year’s Rugby Championship has been cancelled to enable South Africa to host New Zealand in a four-match test tour. The prospect of four All Black/Springbok tests in a row, bringing together the two strongest brands in the world game, is certainly mouthwatering. But, while no doubt bringing a financial boost, it is likely that the opportunistic tour will further erode the All Black team – especially if they lose the test series. Four repeats of the most recent meeting between the two sides would seriously undermine the brand and see supporters looking elsewhere and budding young players turn towards the dollars available in rugby league.
This is all before considering the appointment of a new AB coach, who will be faced with a four-match tour against the best team in the world as well as rising competition from England and France for that number two position. The selection of the new coach could well be pivotal to the future of New Zealand rugby.
No foreign coach has ever been appointed to the ABs, which is how the team has built up the mystique surrounding the All Black magic, keeping the ingredients needed to winning rugby matches a closely guarded secret, and preserving the ‘unique’ AB DNA. I imagine that it would be a step too far to look outside the North or South Island, but even offering the chalice to one of their own could seem poisoned considering the backdrop they will be coming in to.
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David Little is a Partner at Bishop & Sewell in our expert Sports Law and Corporate & Commercial
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The above is accurate as at 14th January 2026.
The information above may be subject to change. The content of this note should not be considered legal advice, and each matter should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
