All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie will continue juggling two jobs for a few more weeks at least after his Kobe Steelers team finished as top qualifiers of Japan’s League One competition. But his planning for the Test season that starts in July has been meticulous – including input from Kiwi NBA star Steven Adams.
Rennie is in New Zealand during Kobe’s bye week, earned through finishing as the league's top seed before they go straight to a semifinal. To say he has been busy since replacing Scott Robertson in March would be an understatement.
He has hosted his management group for meetings in Japan and made the most of the time difference (New Zealand is three hours ahead) to plan and communicate here so he can hit the ground running before the first Nations Championship Test against France in Christchurch on July 4.
Rennie will have 10 days with his squad of 34 before the France Test. Is that enough time?
"It has to be," he said in an address to the media in Auckland this morning.
The All Blacks' other Nations Championship fixtures are against Italy in Wellington and Ireland in Auckland. Rennie will then turn his attention to the formidable tour of South Africa in August and September.
One significant recent decision was to appoint former All Blacks head coach Sir Graham Henry as a selector. Rennie said he spoke with Sir Graham before applying for the top job and was struck by one conversation in particular.
“He talked about the impact that [World Cup-winning All Blacks head coach] Sir Brian Lochore had on him as a selector and that got me thinking,” Rennie said.
“He’s pretty passionate and loves the jersey. He watches a lot of rugby and has strong opinions on players.
“I messaged him and said ‘we’ll catch up tomorrow for a chat’. When I rang I said ,‘what are you seeing’ and he said, ‘I thought you might ask that’ and had a list of 60 players he wanted to talk about.”
Sir Graham, now 79, will be around the team for the three Tests in July and had already planned on leading an official tour group to South Africa. He will now leave a little earlier.
The Adams connection is more left-field but came via a talk on leadership that was arranged by returning mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka.
The two-hour online meeting connected Adams, the defensive linchpin at the Houston Rockets, and former All Blacks Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and Keven Mealamu with the current All Blacks leadership group and assistant coach Tana Umaga.
It was, Rennie said, “gold” in terms of the value of the messaging. It's clear he has high expectations of his leaders and will be demanding of all his players' effort levels on the pitch.
Retallick 'best lock in the world'
Rennie this morning also covered topics as diverse as Brodie Retallick’s form at Kobe – the “best lock in the world”, he said – plus Leicester Fainga’anuku’s performances as a No.7 at the Crusaders and the returning Richie Mo’unga’s ineligibility to be named in the 44-man squad for South Africa.
Of the latter, Rennie – whose current options for No.10 are Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie and Ruben Love – said: “My thinking would have been, we wouldn’t have used him in July. We’ve got good depth there here with the guys who are currently playing.
“The thinking would have been that Richie would have been in the group getting his head around how we’re going to play the game and the detail around that. [And] include him in the squad to Africa and probably play him against the Stormers in the first game and let him earn the right to fight for a Test spot.
“We’re still hoping to get him in to get his head around things. Maybe if there are injuries, there’s an option to bring him in [to South Africa]. He’s got his head around it – he’s prepared to play NPC. We’ve accepted the situation and understand New Zealand Rugby’s mindset around it.”
Asked if he had a first-five pecking order in his mind, Rennie replied: “Ah, yes.” Asked if he wanted to expand on that, he said: “Ah, no.”
He continued: “I think we’re blessed in that position. I’m really excited to watch over the next few weeks as the intensity grows to see how certain guys are performing.”
The 62-year-old Rennie, who led the Chiefs to Super Rugby titles in 2012 and 2013 before leaving to coach the Wallabies, created a stir in his first interview as All Blacks head coach when he raised the possibility of Retallick returning to the national side.
This morning, Rennie said Retallick attending next year’s World Cup was potentially more realistic but the now 34-year-old, who played more than 100 Tests, deserved to be in the frame should he want to return.
“The biggest travel Brodie does nowadays is the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Tokyo. We’re away one night. He wasn’t excited about six weeks in Africa. I think even Razor had that conversation with him 12 months ago. We’ve got 150-odd days in hotels this year so that wouldn’t excite the big man.
“He’s been the best player in Japan. He’s been phenomenal. He’s just won an award for being the top try scorer but it’s all the other stuff that Brodie does over there which is outrageous… I’d say he’d be the best lock in the world.”
'Really impressed' with Fainga'anuku
Of Fainga’anuku, a sensation when switching between the midfield and side of the scrum for the Crusaders over the last three weeks, Rennie said: “He’s gone well. I’ve been really impressed from a work ethic point of view. He’s carrying a lot, he’s stealing a lot of ball.
“I know there’s a lot to refine there in his play as a 7 but his ability to play on the edge as a winger or as a 7 gives you genuine versatility in your squad. You can pick a 6-2 [bench] split with someone who can genuinely play at Test level out wide. It’s been a point of discussion.”
The news on current All Blacks captain Scott Barrett – on a non-playing sabbatical at the Crusaders but who has had to put off his return due to a recent injury – is not so positive.
The defending champions, currently fourth on the ladder, have not released details of Barrett’s issue, but the man himself posted a cryptic social media post recently which hinted at a back injury.
“He’s had issues with the body over the last couple of years, so the time out has been good,” Rennie said. “Unfortunately, he’s picked up a little bit of an injury which is going to delay his return.
“Hopefully the Crusaders go well and make the playoffs and he gets back in time to wear the Crusaders jersey.”
Rennie, who also coaches Ardie Savea at Kobe, said his captain would be announced alongside his first squad of the year.
Rennie has more meetings planned today, along with visits with Kiwi Super Rugby franchises. He will attend the Chiefs v Highlanders match on Friday night before flying back to Japan on Saturday.
"It's good – I've been busy," Rennie said.
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