Stephen Donald: ‘Positivity’ will stop All Blacks from ‘morphing into a northern hemisphere team’ despite new Scottish influence
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie alongside his assistant Mike Blair, and former New Zealand playmaker Stephen Donald.
Stephen Donald insists that the All Blacks will not become like a “northern hemisphere team” after Mike Blair’s appointment as the new attack coach.
While the majority of Dave Rennie’s coaching team are New Zealanders, he has looked abroad with the former Scotland scrum-half.
Blair has worked with Rennie at Glasgow Warriors and Kobelco Kobe Steelers, and is someone the 62-year-old clearly trusts.
It is rare for the All Blacks to look overseas, so it will be interesting to see how the narrative develops when the Test season begins.
Stodgy All Blacks under predecessor
Rennie’s predecessor, Scott Robertson, was criticised for the team’s style of play, which means the attack will have even greater emphasis placed on it under the new regime.
The Scotsman will therefore have to convince the supporters rather quickly that he is the right man to revitalise their back play.
Donald himself was not effusive with his praise for getting in a northern hemisphere coach, but the former fly-half does have full faith in the head honcho’s decision-making.
“How the All Blacks play is important. There was a time where All Blacks fans weren’t just happy with wins, it was how they looked,” he said on The Aftermatch with Kirst and Beav.
“It’s probably come back to now we’ll just take the win. It’s always been that we play this brand of footy that no one else can play.
“It’s play what you see and use all our natural talent, the vision and the passing – the pass and catch of all the players, not just the backs.
“It is interesting that we’ve got a northern hemisphere attack coach but, and I will put in a big but, Rens has clearly got him because he’s worked with him and trusts him.
“With Rens’ attitude towards being positive, with [Neil] Barnes’ attitude towards being positive, with Tana [Umaga] involved, I can’t see us morphing into a northern hemisphere team.
“In Rens we trust, he’s picked him for a reason, I’m very, very sure he will be on the same page.”
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Blair won’t go ‘rogue
Rennie also has a sharp mind when it comes to the backline and Donald believes that the head coach, rather than Blair, will set the template of what he wants to see from the All Blacks attack.
“He’s not going to be able to go rogue, away from what Rens wants. The fact that they’ve worked together, they will already be in tune,” he added.
“When you work with someone on a daily basis for a long time, you start thinking and seeing the same things and talking the same language.”