All Blacks hooker Dane Coles has likened the Wallabies' work at the breakdown to that of the Chiefs now that Dave Rennie has taken the reins of New Zealand's trans-Tasman foe.
Since Rennie's appointment as Michael Chieka's replacement many fans, both Kiwi and Australian, have been eager to see what type of influence the ex-Chiefs coach would have over the Wallabies.
In a press conference today Coles gave a player's perspective on how the New Zealand coach has been making his presence felt on the field.
Asked if there were any hallmarks of Rennie's coaching style present during Sunday's 16-all draw, Coles was quick to reference the Super Rugby side he led to the 2012 and 2013 titles.
"That's the Chiefs," Coles said.
"You could see he's [Rennie] been in there and pumping them up, like he used to do to Sammy Cane and [Tawera] Kerr-Barlow," he added.
When asked more specifically about Rennie's influence around the breakdown, Coles went on to humorously describe the physical encounters around the ruck last week.
Coles compared some of Australia's cleanout efforts to another famous Chiefs player and All Black, Brodie Retallick.
"I could see Big Guzzler (Retallick) coming in and taking guys off the ball and stuff like that.
"Yeah, we felt that."
Coles also referenced Rennie's proven track-record at guiding teams at the breakdown, emphasising the Lower-Hutt native's impact on the current Wallabies side.
"He's got a good, I suppose, understanding of how to curate chaos at the ruck and we've seen that before in the teams he's coached in New Zealand"
"So he is definitely making his mark felt."




















SHARE ME