Dave Rennie is the new coach of the All Blacks, New Zealand Rugby has confirmed.
Rennie has beaten out Jamie Joseph for the right to succeed Scott Robertson, who was sacked in January following a review of the All Blacks’ 2025 Test season.
The former Wallabies boss, who was dumped by Rugby Australia at the start of 2023, has signed a deal through to the end of Rugby World Cup 2027.
Currently coaching Kobe in Japan, Rennie will return home at the conclusion of the League One season to prepare the All Blacks for their Nations Championship Tests against France, Ireland and Italy.
“Coaching the All Blacks is an incredible honour,” Rennie said via media release.
“I’m extremely proud to have been entrusted with this role and understand the expectations that come with it.
“I’m really clear on the way I want the All Blacks to play and I look forward to working with the players, management team, and the rugby community. We have a lot of talent here and we will be working extremely hard to make the country proud.”
New Zealand Rugby chairman David Kirk said Rennie’s resume spoke for itself and the former Chiefs coach, who won two Super Rugby titles, would bring a style of play that resonated with the New Zealand rugby community.
“On behalf of the Board, I’d like to congratulate Dave on his appointment as All Blacks Head Coach,” Kirk said.
“He is a world-class coach who has consistently shown he can build strong performance environments and win.
“Dave understands what it means to coach the All Blacks and play a style of rugby that reflects who we are as New Zealanders.
“He has a deep understanding of rugby in New Zealand and the role the All Blacks play in shaping our national identity and bringing communities together.”
One of Rennie’s first tasks will be to unite a fractured playing group that had lost faith with Robertson during a 10-3 2026 season that saw the All Blacks suffer a record defeat by the Springboks, and also lose to the Pumas for the first time in Argentina.
The final straw for Robertson was a loss to England at Twickenham, before as many as 20 players were interviewed as part of a season review. Star flanker Ardie Savea was cast as one of the key individuals to provide unfavourable feedback on Robertson’s methods; coincidentally Savea is now playing under Rennie at Kobe.
Whether Rennie is given the chance to extend beyond 2027 will likely hinge on the All Blacks performance at next year’s World Cup, where the All Blacks face hosts Australia in a huge Pool A clash. A win in that game will almost certainly set them on course for a quarterfinal matchup against two-time defending champions, the Springboks.
Rennie will however first confront Rassie Erasmus’ side in four Tests as part of “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry” tour later this year, with the All Blacks to face the Springboks in three matches in South Africa and a fourth and final showdown in Baltimore in the United States.
Following that, Rennie will then face the Wallabies, whom the Kiwi coached between 2020 and 2023, for the first time as All Blacks boss after he was punted for Eddie Jones in an ill-fated move by Rugby Australia in January 2023. Jones later departed the Wallabies in October of that year, after Australia exited a Rugby World Cup before the quarterfinals for the very first time.
Joseph, meanwhile, has now been overlooked for the role for the second time. His chances of succeeding Robertson were understood to be harmed by the fact that his close ally and likely attack coach Tony Brown would not be seeking a release from his current position with the Springboks.
Joseph’s Highlanders, have also dropped their last two Super Rugby Pacific fixtures, including a lacklustre showing against the Reds last Friday night.
The 18-month length of Rennie’s contract does however leave the door open for Joseph to have another crack at the All Blacks should Rennie fail to succeed at next year’s World Cup, with Brown’s deal with SA Rugby also coming to an end at that time.
