‘Rapt’ Dave Rennie issues warning to the world after ‘pleasing and exciting’ All Blacks start
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie and New Zealand score try through Anton Lienert-Brown against Ireland (inset).
A delighted Dave Rennie has warned their rivals that the All Blacks have “a lot more in us” after hammering Ireland at Eden Park on Saturday.
The 62-year-old replaced the sacked Scott Robertson earlier this year and took charge of his first Test at the start of this month, a 34-32 victory over France.
Since then, they have defeated Italy and Ireland to go three from three under Rennie and in the Nations Championship.
After a few teething issues in the previous couple of matches, Rennie felt that their win in Auckland was the best of the lot.
Excellent All Blacks ‘balance’
“I’m really rapt, they’re such a good side Ireland. As you saw, we asked a lot of questions of them and they defended really well for big parts,” he told reporters.
“If you give them access into your end of the field they can hurt you, but I thought the balance of our game was really good.
“We looked after the ball really well, our big men carried, we were a little bit more direct and there was smarter kicking which created opportunities for us.
“Overall, I thought we defended really well, so it’s a nice way to wrap up three weeks.”
The All Blacks have evidently improved since the first game of the mid-year Tests but Rennie feels that there is still a lot of improvement left in them, which may concern the rest of the world.
“When I compare where our defence was against France to where it is tonight, Tana [Umaga] and his group have done a massive amount of work and we’re starting to get a bit of a response there,” he said.
“It’s lots of things. Set-piece-wise we were really strong. The scrum was excellent, we thought we would have an edge there as we had a pretty big pack on the park and I’m really happy. I like the fact we’re able to go multi-phase and profit off that.
“We’ve got a lot more in us and we can be a lot better, but what we’ve been able to put on the park in three weeks is pleasing and exciting.”
Springboks challenge
Both France and Ireland presented stern Tests, but it gets much harder for the All Blacks as they head to South Africa next month.
That, Rennie admits, will give a better assessment of where they stand, although the head coach states that it will be a beneficial tour what the outcome.
“It’s a different beast South Africa. They put a ‘B’ side out last week and beat an excellent Scotland team, but I’m really excited,” he added.
“We’ve worked really hard and put a lot of detail into our game, the boys have really embraced it and I think we’ve got a really good balance of working hard but enjoying it and having fun.
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“We’re in a good spot. It will be nice to have a week off, most of the guys have had big years, and then we’re into it for seven more weeks.
“We’ve done a lot of planning and detail over that, so we’ll go over there and give it our best shot. The exciting thing I reckon is we’ll come out of South Africa, regardless of the result, in a much better place.
“We’ll know a lot more about the boys and our game model, and the detail within that. We’ll be able to hone in on our culture, so it’s exciting.
“We’ve got a captured audience for seven weeks, we’ll make the most of that.”
