Dave Rennie’s verdict on All Blacks job process that left Jamie Joseph ‘miffed’ as he reveals his style of coaching and goals
Dave Rennie with an inset of Jamie Joseph.
New All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has revealed that he invited the selection panel over to Japan to see ‘warts and all’ how he conducts a week.
Former hooker Dane Coles and acting NZR chief executive Steve Lancaster spent a week with both Rennie and Jamie Joseph during the interview process to decide who would succeed Scott Robertson.
Job application process
It was a controversial ploy from the NZ Rugby appointment panel as it reportedly left Joseph ‘miffed’ according to a report in the New Zealand Herald.
“It is understood that Joseph, in particular, is miffed that having coached Wellington, the Highlanders, Māori All Blacks and the All Blacks XV as recently as last year, that he is now having observers sit in on his coaching to take notes,” a New Zealand Herald report states.
“He’s thought to be perturbed, too, that his fate will be determined by how well he presents in an interview situation, when he feels his coaching achievements are all known and documented, and by far the better means by which to assess his worthiness.”
Speaking to All Blacks great Jeff Wilson on Sky Sports NZ, Rennie offered a completely polarising view on that particular aspect of the job application process and said that he actually invited the delegation over to spend a week with him at Kobe.
“Yeah, I thought the process was excellent,” he said.
“I asked them to come to Japan because I’ve been away from New Zealand for nine years, and I guess anyone who knew me or had seen me coach wouldn’t have seen me for a long time.
“So, I opened the doors, so they could see warts and all; how we plan, prepare and conduct trainings and so on. So, Steve and Dane came up for a couple of days and then we had a pretty full-on interview yesterday, which I didn’t realise how long it had gone on for.”
Rennie added that he hoped to catch a beer with Joseph after the pair’s interviews but ran out of time as he hadn’t realised how long his interview had gone on for.
“Duncan, my agent, had said to me that we’re going to catch up for dinner at six and I thought I’d duck back to the hotel and get changed and looked at my watch and it was 17:30,” he said.
“But yeah, it was really good. It was a good conversation and good challenge and very thorough.”
He did, however, reveal a classy touch from Joseph, who messaged him and wished him well in the role straightaway after discovering that he hadn’t been offered the job.
Rennie’s style
It has been theorised that Joseph’s old-school, hard-nose approach slightly tipped the scales in Rennie’s favour in what was a tight two-horse race for the position.
So, what type of coach is Rennie?
“I’m a type of guy who puts an arm around someone while digging into their ribs,” the All Blacks boss explained.
“I care, and I want to help people, but I also want to be demanding to get the best out of them and help them. So yeah, I think that probably describes my style best.”
New Zealand ended 2024 ranked second overall on the World Rugby rankings after losing just three matches. However, that was not enough for the NZ Rugby board who deemed that a change of leadership was needed.
The standards have been set incredibly high for Rennie, leading Wilson to the question ‘What does better look like for you when it comes to the All Blacks?’
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Wary not to point a finger at Robertson, his staff or the players, Rennie replied: “I don’t want to go into massive detail because I might end up throwing someone under the bus, and that’s not fair, but I’ve watched a lot of All Black footy through this process and I cut 100 clips to give me a real clear understanding of shifts we can make.
“We need to be brilliant at basics, so a lot of time will be put into the simple parts of our game. Our footwork through contact, the ability to create one-on-one situations where we get better gain line and faster ball and the quality of our catch, pass and our decision-making and consistency around our lines and detail. I think if we can raise the bar in lots of areas, and that makes a difference and that’ll be a focus for us.”
