Dave Rennie named first All Blacks coach of Pasifika heritage
The number was narrowed to two in the final round of interviews when David Rennie edged out former All Black player Jamie Joseph, who coached Japan to crucial success in the last eight at home to the Rugby World Cup in 2019.
The headline figures from Rennie’s last outing in Test rugby don’t read well. He left Australia in January 2023 with a win rate of just 38%. One of the losses on his card was the first defeat against Italy.
But those who looked at it in more detail felt that his job was difficult. Negotiating the Covid era and all the restrictions it brings, alongside a series of injuries in key positions, Rennie has still fostered a unity among the Wallabies that is evident in three wins over South Africa and a narrow series defeat against England in 2022.
His last few games in Australia at the end of 2022 summed it up. On the surface, just two wins against Scotland and Wales, and Italy’s historic defeat in a five-game northern hemisphere tour, look below par. But the other two results were one- and three-point losses respectively to France and Ireland, who would go into the Rugby World Cup the following year as leading contenders for the title.
Certainly Rennie’s record had aged well. Eddie Jones, who replaced him at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, was divisive off the field and led to disaster in his wake; The Wallabies lost to Fiji and Wales and failed to make it out of the pool for the first time in the tournament’s history.
Rennie was also highly respected during his three years at Glasgow Warriors; There he led the team to the Pro14 final in 2019 and went about his business in a calm, thoughtful manner.
He will need that composure in a high-pressure job that troubled his predecessor, Scott Robertson. However, Rennie is expected to crack once again in the Test phase.
