WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has been removed two years into a four-year contract, after a damning internal report into the New Zealand rugby team's 2025 season and reported threats from senior players to quit if he was not removed.
Robertson's tenure as head coach was controversial even before it properly began and he presided over the team's worst results in the professional era, including a loss to South Africa last year which was the heaviest in the All Blacks' 120-year history.
World Cup-winning All Blacks captain David Kirk, who chairs the board of New Zealand Rugby, announced Robertson's “departure” in a statement Thursday.
“The mid-point in the Rugby World Cup cycle is the right time to look at the All Blacks’ progress over the first two seasons,’’ Kirk said. “The team are set to play a significant 2026 schedule and the (World Cup) tournament in 2027 remains the key goal.
“We’ve taken an extensive look at the team’s progress on and off the field and have subsequently had discussions with Scott on the way forward. Both NZR and Scott agree it is in the best interests of the team that he depart his role as head coach.”
In a statement, Robertson referred to his dismissal as an “early" contract ending.
“Following the end of year review I have taken time to reflect on some of the feedback. My priority has always been the success of the All Blacks and, after discussions with New Zealand Rugby, I believe it is in the best interests of the team for me to step aside," Robertson said.
“I have therefore reached an agreement with New Zealand Rugby to end my contract early so a new coaching group has the time it needs to prepare and take the team into the next World Cup. I am incredibly proud of what this team has achieved and of the progress we have made."
But Robertson said he was “gutted” by the news of his dismissal.
“I care deeply about this team,” he said. “Given the sensitivity of this situation I will not be making any further comment.”
NZR said a process has begun to select a new head coach. Jamie Joseph, the former Japan and New Zealand Maori coach, is thought to be the preferred candidate.
“On behalf of New Zealand Rugby I would like to thank Scott for his contribution to the All Blacks,’’ Kirk said. “As always, he has continued to put the All Blacks first and we respect that he has done the hard but right thing in agreeing to depart."
Robertson had 20 wins from 27 matches in charge, a winning percentage well below those of predecessors Steve Hansen (87%), Graham Henry (85%) but above Ian Foster (70%).
Robertson’s position became tenuous when it was reported Ardie Savea, who captained the All Blacks at times last year, had indicated he would not play for New Zealand while Robertson remained in charge.
Robertson was appointed head coach in March, 2023 while the current head coach Foster was already contracted to take the New Zealand team to the World Cup later that year.
That created an unprecedented situation in which the incumbent coach had to operate with his successor already in place. When Foster, unexpectedly, led New Zealand to the World Cup final in which it lost by a single point to South Africa, the decision to allow overlapping coaching tenures became farcical.
At the same time, it was clear Robertson was only appointed because he had threatened to leave New Zealand and coach overseas unless he was promised the All Blacks head coaching role. Departing chief executive Mark Robinson has been heavily criticized for bowing to that threat and for undermining Foster in a World Cup year.
Robertson had always seemed likely to become All Blacks head coach after leading the Christchurch-based Crusaders to seven consecutive Super Rugby titles.
Previously, Henry and Steve Hansen, who both led the All Blacks to World Cup victories, and Foster who was an assistant to Hansen had international coaching experience before being appointed. Robertson did not and that lack of experience showed throughout his tenure.
In 2024, his first season in charge, the All Blacks lost to Argentina in New Zealand for the first time and lost also to South Africa and France.
Last year, the All Blacks lost to Argentina in Argentina for the first time. Their 43-10 loss to South Africa in Wellington was the largest in their history. They also lost to England at Twickenham in November.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
FILE - New Zealand's All Blacks coach Scott Robertson watches players warm up before a rugby championship match against Argentina's Los Pumas at Mario Alberto Kempes stadium in Cordoba, Argentina, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Nicolas Aguilera, File)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A judge on Wednesday gave the Trump administration time to respond to a request to suspend an immigration crackdown in Minnesota, while the Pentagon looked for military lawyers to join what has become a chaotic law enforcement effort in the state.
Plumes of tear gas, bursts of chemical irritants and the screech of protest whistles have become common on the streets of Minneapolis, especially since an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good in the head on Jan. 7 as she drove away.
Agents have yanked people from cars and homes and been confronted by angry bystanders who are demanding that officers pack up and leave.
“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered," state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter said during the first hearing in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Local leaders say the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights with the surge of law enforcement. U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez promised to keep the case “on the front burner” and gave the U.S. Justice Department until Monday to file a response to a request for a restraining order.
The judge said these are "grave and important matters,” and that there are few legal precedents to apply to some of the key points in the case.
Justice Department attorney Andrew Warden suggested the approach set by Menendez was appropriate.
The judge is also handling a separate lawsuit challenging the tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal officers when they encounter protesters and observers. A decision could be released this week.
During a news conference Wednesday evening, Gov. Tim Walz described Minnesota as being in chaos, saying what's happening in the state “defies belief.”
“Let’s be very, very clear, this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement," he said. "Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
Walz added that “accountability” will be coming through the courts.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. The Pentagon is preparing to send military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist.
CNN, citing an email circulating in the military, says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is asking the branches to identify 40 lawyers known as judge advocate general officers or JAGs, and 25 of them will serve as special assistant U.S. attorneys in Minneapolis.
Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson appeared to confirm the CNN report by posting it on X with a comment that the military “is proud to support” the Justice Department.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking more details.
It’s the latest step by the Trump administration to dispatch military and civilian attorneys to areas where federal immigration operations are taking place. The Pentagon last week sent 20 lawyers to Memphis, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said.
Mark Nevitt, an associate professor at Emory University School of Law and a former Navy JAG, said there's concern that the assignments are taking lawyers away from the military justice system.
“There are not many JAGs but there are over one million members of the military, and they all need legal support,” he said.
Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered internal bleeding to his torso during the encounter, a Homeland Security official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Ross’ medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the extent of the bleeding, exactly how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.
There are many causes of internal bleeding, and they vary in severity from bruising to significant blood loss. Video from the scene showed Ross and other officers walking without obvious difficulty after Good was shot and her Honda Pilot crashed into other vehicles.
She was killed after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from her home.
Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that has been deeply criticized by Minnesota officials.
Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment on any injuries.
Good’s family, meanwhile, has hired a law firm, Romanucci & Blandin, that represented George Floyd’s family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground in the street in May 2020.
The firm said Good was following orders to move her car when she was shot. It said it would conduct its own investigation and publicly share what it learns.
“They do not want her used as a political pawn,” the firm said, referring to Good and her family, “but rather as an agent of peace for all.”
Waving signs reading “Love Melts ICE” and “DE-ICE MN,” hundreds of teenagers left school in St. Paul and marched in freezing temperatures to the state Capitol for a protest and rally.
The University of Minnesota, meanwhile, informed its 50,000-plus students that there could be online options for some classes when the new term starts next week. President Rebecca Cunningham noted that “violence and protests have come to our doorstep.” The campus sits next to the main Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis.
Associated Press reporters Julie Watson in San Diego, California; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; Ed White in Detroit; Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
Federal immigration officers are seen Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Hundreds of protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal officers stand guard after detaining people outside of Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People visits a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A person is detained by federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
