Kieran Read: Dave Rennie ‘needs to make changes’ and the evidence which will show new All Blacks boss has ’embraced’ it
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie and former New Zealand captain Kieran Read.
All Blacks legend Kieran Read believes that Dave Rennie’s first team announcement will provide a big indicator as to how he will approach the head coach role.
The 62-year-old has taken the reins from Scott Robertson, who was renowned as a conservative selector, and will look to close the gap on the Springboks ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Rennie will name his team to face France on Thursday, with reports suggesting that three of the four rookies picked in the wider training squad will be involved in the 23.
Reward the in-form Hurricanes stars
And asked on the GBRANZ podcast whether he expects the new boss to ‘shake things up’, Read responded: “I certainly hope so. We do need to make some changes and he has shown it through a couple of selections, but it’s going to be his game-day 23, even his XV, where we’re going to see whether he is going to embrace change.
“It’s so hard, they’ve had a two-day camp, a week of prep leading into this first game. There will be new calls and new everything that’s been fed into the players.
“You can’t go out there and perform with all this information so it’s a real nuance of getting enough information into players. If you’ve got new players coming in, s*** it’s already a big step up when you come into the All Blacks to what it’s been like in Super Rugby.
“You add in all the extras with new stuff, it’s tough, but I think you’ve got to reward the form Hurricanes players and put them in that side.”
Read was joined on the show by fellow All Blacks legend Justin Marshall, who “agreed” with the former number eight and captain.
“Form is key, no doubt about it, and I agree the prep is not ideal, but at the end of the day, France haven’t had any prep either,” Marshall said.
“That makes it equally difficult when you’re in Test week when there’s no history, there’s no recent evidence of the way that France will play or what their line-up looks like. The analysis is done to within an inch of your life.
“Historically, you can look back on some trends, which they will do, but that’s encouraging for me that they don’t have the ability to see that recent history because the key for me is the way that they’re going to play.
“That’s what they’re going to have to focus on because of their inability to analyse as much as what they usually would.”
Focusing on All Blacks ‘strengths’
Marshall therefore believes that this opening game offers Rennie an opportunity to set his stall out about what he wants to see from his team, rather than delving too much into the French dangers.
“It’s all going to be the All Blacks focusing on their strengths, their individuals within the team environment and the way that they’re going to play,” he said.
“That’s where I’m intrigued to see where Dave Rennie, the rest of his coaching staff and the senior All Blacks come up with in terms of an evolution of the way the All Blacks have been playing.
“Where it has been in recent history has shown that it’s not been up to the standard of where it should be and losing against teams regularly is evidence of that.”
Rennie wants to return to the All Blacks way, and Read claims that it is the “little things” which will show if the head coach is staying true to his word.
“The words they’re talking about is tempo and they’re talking about playing quicker, playing a brand of rugby New Zealanders play, so that’s the language,” he added.
“What does that actually look like when you get into a Test match and you’re playing against a really great defence that’s putting pressure on you?
“What happens in Super Rugby is you go to the 15-metre channel, box-kick. Do we have a set-up that allows us to play? So we go to width, have a crack and then we kick.
“It’s those little things that shows how we’re going to approach things moving forward.”
