Just over three years after he was sacked as Wallabies coach to make way for Eddie Jones, Dave Rennie has been named as the new All Blacks coach.
NZ Rugby announced Rennie as their national men’s team coach in a social media post on Wednesday morning, after a recruitment process following the removal of Scott Robertson as All Blacks coach in January.
Dave Rennie has been named as the new All Blacks coach.Credit: Getty
While several ex-All Blacks coaching figures have taken over the Wallabies, it is the first time a former coach of the Wallabies has taken the top job. He will return to New Zealand in June, after finishing his club role with Kobe Steelers in Japan.
In a statement, Rennie said he was “extremely proud to have been entrusted with this role and understand the expectations that come with it”.
“I’m really clear on the way I want the All Blacks to play and I look forward to working with the players, management team, and the rugby community,” he said. “We have a lot of talent here and we will be working extremely hard to make the country proud.”
Rennie, a Kiwi who played for Wellington in the 1980s, coached the Wallabies in 33 Tests between 2020 and 2023.
But after finishing at the end of the 2022 season with a loss to Italy on the Spring Tour, and with a 38 per cent win record, then-RA chairman Hamish McLennan and the RA board sacked Rennie and brought in Jones, who’d been spoken to about taking over the Wallabies after the 2023 Rugby World Cup. He took over and made drastic changes to Rennie’s squad and program, and it ended in disaster, with the Wallabies failing to make the quarter-finals.
Rennie was gutted to not be given the chance to take the Wallabies to the 2023 Rugby World Cup but he kept a dignified silence throughout Jones’ chaotic tenure.
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