Aaron Smith: Every time I hear Dave Rennie I feel like we are getting the honest truth
All Blacks boss Dave Rennie and legendary scrum-half Aaron Smith.
All Blacks legend Aaron Smith has hailed Dave Rennie’s “refreshing” approach as head coach after his outstanding start to life in the hotseat.
The 62-year-old took over from Scott Robertson, who was often rather guarded in his press conferences.
In contrast, Smith, who played under Rennie at U20 level, believes that the new All Blacks boss has been more open during the early part of his tenure.
Praise for Dave Rennie
“I don’t watch many coaches’ pressers but when I hear Dave Rennie speak, I feel like I’m getting the honest truth, educated, and a pretty honest view of what he wants,” the former scrum-half told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“That’s been really refreshing and I’ve really enjoyed that.”
Rennie was hired in March but didn’t take charge of a match until July where New Zealand claimed three successive victories in the Nations Championship.
They defeated France, Italy and Ireland at home, results and performance which showed promise, but the biggest challenge was always going to be the South African tour.
However, the All Blacks have been impressive so far, winning all the games against the home franchises and, most importantly, taking a 1-0 series lead with victory over the Springboks in Johannesburg.
New Zealand drew first blood by overcoming the hosts 33-16 at Ellis Park, but Smith still believes that there is room for improvement.
The 37-year-old is not expecting the Boks to be quite as profligate this weekend and insists the tourists have to be on their guard.
“The South Africans will be a lot better, they’ve now got footage of each other. Some of the South African attack in moments looked pretty dangerous and pretty brutal, but also the All Blacks have got to be a lot better,” Smith said.
“I’m still a little bit baffled, and I know both teams are trying to play really aggressively, how many points we turned down off the boot.
“[Ruben] Love looks like he has a rocket off the boot and if you think that it’s Ellis Park, that’s 90 seconds for a rest. It’s just one of those things but they’ve got through the hardest game and throws this whole series into a pretty awesome spot.”
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Ellis Park Test took its toll
Smith also predicts that there will be an even better game in Cape Town. Although conditions were seemingly ideal in Johannesburg, the former scrum-half reckoned it would have been exhausting for the players.
“People just don’t understand the fatigue level of Ellis Park,” he said.
“You have to run up a 40-metre tunnel for one. The nerves, the heat, the crowd, it would have been an emotional dump for the boys.
“It was 15 months of build-up to that moment so it was pretty special.”
