Ronan O'Gara: Razor’s fall proves nobody is safe in modern test rugby
Ronan O'Gara and Scott Robertson (L-R) look on during a Crusaders Super Rugby Captain's Run at Orangetheory Stadium on June 20, 2019 in Christchurch, New Zealand. Picture: Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images
WHEN the phone rang a second time, I knew it was serious. Razor doesn’t call twice. The bombshell from New Zealand on Wednesday may just have changed the game, and not in a good way. The All Blacks have sacked a head coach for the first time, one with 20 wins from 27 test matches, 10 of 13 last year. It’s hardly a record worth throwing a man in chains down the plughole for. Honestly, I’m stunned. Like football, the length of time a coach gets today to set out his stall could be measured with an egg-timer.
The NZRU chairman David Kirk says there was no player influence in this decision and we take him at his word, but that this can happen without a figurehead at the NZRU, in the wake of CEO Mark Robinson’s decision to step down at the tail end of last year, is instructive. Someone to stand up and say hold on here.
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