All Blacks great claims ‘balanced’ Dave Rennie will not pick on ‘nostalgia and favouritism’
All Blacks team in a huddle and new head coach Dave Rennie.
Former All Blacks star Murray Mexted insists that Dave Rennie will provide clarity to the squad when his tenure begins in earnest next week.
The 62-year-old recently named a 34-man group ahead of the Nations Championship, which included four uncapped players.
Mexted is a fan of the squad that has been picked but admitted that his positivity looking towards the All Blacks’ 2026 Test season is more due to the man that is now in charge.
‘Dave Rennie sees it really clearly’
“It’s probably based on Dave Rennie to be frank as I’ve worked with him for many years. One thing about him is he’s very balanced and he’s got a very balanced perspective,” he told the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin.
“I think that’s the case with selection as well. He doesn’t select on historic form, he selects on current form and if you’re on, he will be pick you.
“He sees things clearly in my view and a lot of people get caught up with nostalgia and favouritism, and honour, but Dave just sees it really clearly.
“I’m feeling quite comfortable with Dave being in that position and he’s been very experienced at looking at a team and identifying its strengths and weaknesses.
“Looking at the individuals who need support, the strategy, these sorts of things, and he just seems to do it so clearly.”
Rennie took over from Scott Robertson, who was sacked in January, and he has just over a year to correct their issues ahead of the start of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
While it is not a long time, Mexted believes that the former Wallabies’ boss excellent communication skills means that everyone will be on the same page quickly.
“The other thing is no one can misunderstand Rens, even when you see an interview. He says things that are pertinent, there is no flowery stuff on the edges, he’s just going straight to it,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter who you are… most people understand Dave Rennie, the simplistic way in which he explains things and I think that’s a great thing.
“Often we hear coaches being interviewed and they’re almost confusing themselves, so what are they doing to the players? Particularly when something’s happened in the game and they don’t know why it’s happened.
“With Dave Rennie, whenever he’s interviewed, you will understand what he’s actually saying and his players do, and that’s the key to rugby.”
No criticism of Scott Robertson
Mexted insisted that he was not referencing Robertson in his critique of “other coaches”, simply stating that communication is one of Rennie’s superpowers.
“Being a team sport, you’ve got a lot of players, you’ve got 15 on the field and a whole lot on the sideline who could come on at any moment, and everyone has to be on the same wavelength,” he added.
“If you’re on the same wavelength, you will have the same motivation and you’re going to be a successful team.
“Under Dave Rennie, that’s generally the way. This of course is a higher level, this is the highest level we can get in rugby – the All Black team playing against France, Ireland and South Africa later on. It doesn’t get any harder than that.”
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