Dave Rennie’s appointment as All Blacks head coach sent tongues wagging as to how many changes his new regime will bring.
Liam Napier dives into how Rennie’s All Blacks will operate, and whether we could see a fresh wave of talent ushered into the international scene.
Let’s start with the playing shift Rennie will demand.
Through his two-year tenure Scott Robertson’s All Blacks struggled to consistently deliver a discernible playing style. They wanted to play with pace but often lacked the platform and accuracy to do so effectively. Too often Robertson’s All Blacks relied on individual brilliance to spark an attacking raid. And when they were on the backfoot, they seemed bereft of ideas at times.
While Rennie’s teams can’t be typecast into one category as such, distinct characteristics are evident.
The first is the breakdown. One non-negotiable is the ferocity Rennie teams impose on the carry, clean and collisions. Rugby is a complicated sport with many nuances but any team that gets this part right is halfway to victory.
Rennie’s Chiefs constantly pushed the boundaries with their aggression and intent at the breakdown – to the point the opposition would frequently complain about off-the-ball tactics.
When that approach didn’t work it yielded a string of penalties. But more often than not it did bear fruit which allowed Aaron Cruden, Sonny Bill Williams and others to enjoy the desired time and space.
A laser focus on winning clean ball while disrupting the opposition is also a style that stood up to Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks, with Rennie’s then No. 7-ranked Wallabies earning three victories from four attempts.
While the All Blacks boast all court forwards such as Wallace Sititi, Tamaiti Williams and Ardie Savea who showcase a range of skills, Rennie will be more interested in his props cleaning rucks with vigour than throwing silky offloads.
It’s impossible to talk about playing style changes without citing Rennie’s likely All Blacks coaching team.
While it’s yet to be finalised Rennie is expected to deliver sweeping changes to Robertson’s assistants.
Forwards coach Jason Ryan is likely to be the sole survivor with fellow assistants Scott Hansen (attack), Tamati Ellison (defence) and Bryn Evans (lineout) all expected to be moved on.
Ryan’s role could be rescoped, too, with more of a focus on the scrum.
Responsibility for the lineout and breakdown is expected to be handed to the vastly experienced Neil Barnes, a no-nonsense forwards mentor who shot to prominence as part of the Netflix Six Nations documentary during his time with Italy.
Former Scotland halfback Mike Blair, a structured, stats-based attack coach who works alongside Rennie at Kobe in Japan, is in discussions to join the All Blacks too. As is All Blacks great and current Moana Pasifika boss Tana Umaga, who is being considered as a defence coach.
As attack coach by trade, though, Rennie will have a clear idea about how he wants the All Blacks to operate with ball in hand. This is one reason he was favoured to assume charge over Jamie Joseph, the former All Blacks lock/loose forward.
Under Robertson the All Blacks, like many of their Test counterparts, favoured a territory based, kick-heavy approach.
Rennie, typically, empowers his players to play what they say. Teams he coaches are therefore much more inclined to attack space from anywhere on the park which comes with risk but should improve the All Blacks’ lack of counter attacking spark in recent times.
Other than a relentless physicality to the breakdown and counter attacking freedom the other standout Rennie trait is his demand for high quality basic skills.
The All Blacks’ catch and pass work has significantly slipped – and their high ball work must improve. All of which won’t be lost on Rennie who will hire a designated skills coach – possibly recent England assistant Andrew Strawbridge – charged with refining these specific areas.
Highly regarded strength and conditioning trainer Phil Healey, who is expected to replace the long-serving Nic Gill as he departs for the Baltimore Ravens, should also ensure the All Blacks are physically primed for the rigors of the Test arena.
As for the playing ranks a widespread cleanout is unlikely but Rennie ensured everyone is looking over their shoulders after declaring in his first press conference as All Blacks head coach that he held no loyalties.
After nine years abroad in Scotland, Australia and Japan, Damian McKenzie is one of few remaining figures Rennie coached at the Chiefs.
That’s not to say he will put a broom through Robertson’s All Blacks squad but Rennie is certainly his own man, with his own playing style and vision.
As he proved when immediately overhauling the Chiefs and leading them to successive Super Rugby titles, Rennie favours workers over rock stars, performances over reputation.
Those on the fringe of the All Blacks, the likes of Highlanders wing Caleb Tangitau, Hurricanes blindside Devan Flanders, hooker Asafo Aumua, Blues flanker Torian Barnes and Moana Pasifika No 8 Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa, with his eligibility undecided, are stating their cases through the early Super Rugby rounds but the business end of the season is when individual performances matter most.
The loose forwards and midfield remain the most pressing areas for Rennie to solve, particularly the ongoing blindside flanker and centre conundrums, and he is likely to shake up the captaincy and leadership group too.
Change is coming which will spark nerves among many established All Blacks.
