All Blacks assistant coach quits over disagreements with Robertson.
After disagreeing with head coach Scott Robertson about the team’s direction, New Zealand assistant coach Leon MacDonald quit the All Blacks, the New Zealand Rugby (NZR) announced on Thursday. In spite of the fact that the All Blacks won four of their five Test matches during Robertson’s maiden season as captain, MacDonald’s resignation occurs prior to the two-Test tour of South Africa.
Robertson was candid when he stated that his relationship with his attack specialist was failing. “For a short while now, Leon and I have been having some honest conversations with each other,” Robertson stated. “Although we have different opinions as coaches, we both felt it wasn’t working. “Leon and I both have a strong sense of loyalty to the All Blacks, and we think we’ve made the right choice for this group.
The group has a great deal of respect and gratitude for Leon and the work he did to get us to this stage in the journey. “As a team, we have recognised that contribution, and we now need to concentrate on South Africa—there will be two challenging Test matches there.” For the balance of the season, NZR announced, assistant coach Scott Hansen and contact skills coach Tamati Ellison will have more duties.
MacDonald’s comments were left out of the NZR statement, which stated that there had been a mutual parting of ways. After two close victories over England to start the season, the All Blacks used a subpar squad to beat Fiji 47–5 in San Diego. After a 38-30 loss to Argentina in Wellington to begin their Rugby Championship title defence, they overcame the Pumas with a commanding 42-10 victory at Eden Park the previous Saturday.