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Former Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has been named as the replacement for Scott Robertson as coach of the All Blacks. He will take New Zealand to the Rugby World Cup in Australia next year. The 62-year-old former Wallabies coach beat out Jamie Joseph for one of the biggest jobs in world rugby after an extensive recruitment process. The process started when Robertson and New Zealand surprisingly decided to part ways halfway through his contract in mid-January.
New Zealand Rugby has announced the appointment of Dave Rennie as All Blacks Head Coach through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.#MorningLive #SABCNews pic.twitter.com/FI7HqMRIDi
— SABCNews_MorningLive (@MorningLiveSABC) March 4, 2026
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus spoke about Dave Rennie earlier in the week, saying he prepares very physical teams.
Rennie, the first All Blacks coach with Pacific Islander heritage, was handed a contract through to the end of next year’s World Cup, but will first honour his commitment to Japan’s Kobe Steelers before preparing New Zealand for the July tests.
“I’m extremely proud and honoured, as I’ve mentioned this morning. I’m well aware of the expectations and responsibilities of the role I’m going to be in, but I’m really excited by it. There’s a lot of work to be done. I’m based in Japan, but I’ve done this a lot of times before,” says new All Blacks coach, Dave Rennie.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus speaks very highly of Rennie, saying he is a no-nonsense coach who can get the very best out of his teams.
“As a South African coaching against him, his teams, and I think he might get it right at test level, but as far as I understood, he had no mercy for guys. Not in a bad way, but driven to get the guys ready for Saturdays, and I think they even called it Rennie’s time on Thursdays, where they had contact on a Thursday prior to matches. So can you do that in an international squad? I think you can with the depth New Zealand has,” says Springboks’ coach, Rassie Erasmus.
The appointment puts an end to the speculation over Bok assistant coach Tony Brown’s future, who is staying with the Springboks until after the 2027 World Cup. Rennie will cross paths with the Boks in rugby’s greatest rivalry in August and September, a tour that Brown says all of New Zealand is waiting for.
“Everyone in New Zealand is really excited. There are going to be a lot of people coming over, doing a few wine tours, and watching games of rugby, so the hype is there in New Zealand, and I know it is going to be here as well. South Africa is probably the greatest country to come to as a touring player. Everyone loves the game here. There is going to be a lot of hype around it. Everyone is going to be full on into rugby,” says Springboks’ backline coach, Tony Brown.
Rennie has cautioned that players will need to earn the right to wear the All Black jersey, saying his selections will be based on form.
www.sabcnews.com, https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/rennie-to-coach-all-blacks-ahead-of-rugby-world-cup/
