The All Blacks have dropped a bombshell on the eve of their trip to face the Springboks in South Africa, as assistant coach Leon MacDonald quit the coaching team because of “coaching differences” with All Blacks coach Scott Robertson.
Thank you to Leon MacDonald for all he has contributed as All Blacks Assistant Coach. Leon has announced he has decided to leave the All Blacks coaching group ahead of the two Test matches in South Africa. He departs with the respect and best wishes of us all. 🖤 pic.twitter.com/CmzJ6MEhZ3
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) August 22, 2024
The depth of the chasm between the two coaches seems to have widened significantly, which has come as a massive shock to New Zealand Rugby, especially as it seemed the two were joined by the hip and had shared a long coaching career together.
Robertson, who is just five games into his tenure as All Blacks coach, will now head to South Africa without his longtime friend, and admitted to New Zealand media after the announcement it was purely on “coaching differences”
“Just a little bit of philosophy on rugby, how it’s played,” he said. “We just didn’t quite click in different aspects.
“There was no intent to get to this point where we are now. But we just believed for the both of us, the best thing for the All Black group is we make the call now.
“We went through a process, and we got to here.”
While the All Blacks have tried to paint a picture of this being a normal decision, it comes mid-season and as the team were preparing to leave for South Africa. A large part of the current squad are also known to be loyal to MacDonald, who coaches at the Blues.
Robertson said the coaches had addressed the players after the decision.
“We had a conversation this morning,” Robertson continued. “The coaches respect and care for Rangi (MacDonald). The big thing for us is our focus heads to South Africa now. We’ve had the conversations that have been required with the players.
“We’ll get around them, if we need to.”
'NO ILL FEELINGS'
Macdonald and Robertson coached together with the New Zealand under-20s in 2015, and when Robertson first applied for the All Blacks job in 2019, MacDonald was listed as one of his assistant coaches.
MacDonald coached the Blues for four years, engineering their resurgence in the Super Rugby Pacifica competition with a record of 45 wins, 23 defeats and a draw in four years at the helm of the franchise.
Robertson went further to say that there were no ill-feelings between the pair.
“Leon’s a good man, he’s a good person. Sometimes things just don’t click. You have a job and a role, and I believe this is the best thing for our group moving forward.
“He’s a hell of a coach, he’s done a good job with the Blues. I wish him all the best, like I said, he’s a good man and a good coach.”
The press release said that “discussions between All Blacks Head Coach Scott Robertson and MacDonald on their working approach have been taking place for several weeks, with the pair agreeing to mutually part ways.
“Assistant Coach Scott Hansen and Contact Skills Coach Tamati Ellison will take on additional responsibilities for the remainder of the season.
NZR Head of Professional Rugby and Performance Chris Lendrum said:
“You’ve got two great coaches who have been having some robust but constructive discussions on the approach to drive the All Blacks over a period of time now. Ultimately, they have made a brave decision that they believe is best for the team.
“Leon is a highly regarded coach and has made a huge contribution to rugby across a number of teams in New Zealand, and we’d love to have him back in our system in the future. For now, I’d like to thank him on behalf of NZR and wish him all the very best.”
Commenting in the team press release Robertson said: “Leon and I have been having some honest conversations with each other for a little while now. As coaches we have differing views and both agreed it wasn’t working. Leon and I both care deeply about the All Blacks and we believe we’ve made a decision that’s best for this team.
“There’s a huge amount of respect and appreciation for Leon in the group and the work he’s put in to get us to this point in our journey. As a team we have acknowledged that contribution and our focus now needs to be on South Africa, it’s going to be two tough test matches over there.”
Before joining the Blues in 2019, MacDonald served as an assistant to Robertson at the Crusaders. He also coached Tasman in the NPC.
The All Blacks also have former Hurricanes coach Jason Holland on board as a specialist attack coach.