Rennie was yesterday unveiled as the new All Blacks coach, replacing Scott Robertson and contracted until the end of the 2027 World Cup.
The 62-year-old Manawatū man has an extensive coaching history and has largely tasted success, most notably winning back-to-back Super Rugby titles with the Chiefs and leading the New Zealand under-20 team to three straight world titles.
There has always been a wallaby in the room, however, though clearly the All Blacks interview panel did not feel it was reason for concern.
Rennie won just 13 of his 34 tests in charge of Australia before he was sacked and replaced by Eddie Jones before the 2023 World Cup.
He said he had "no regrets" when reflecting on his Wallabies experience.
"I’ve got a lot of strong relationships there and I learnt a lot from coaching at that level.
"It wasn’t an ideal end and I obviously didn’t get the chance to go to a World Cup, but I felt more for about 13 or 14 players who would have gone to a World Cup with me who didn’t get to go.
"Yeah, I’m looking forward to the opportunity to go to one next year."
New Zealand Rugby’s decision to promote Rennie ahead of Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph raises a couple of interesting issues.
The first is that Rennie has commitments with his Kobe Steelers in Japan until June.
That will leave him precious little time to prepare for the three tests in the new Nations Championship in July, the gruelling Greatest Rivalry tour of South Africa, and the northern tour.
Rennie said he was already an avid watcher of Super Rugby, he would return to New Zealand in his bye weeks in Japan, and other systems would be put in place to make sure the All Blacks were not hamstrung by the new coach’s situation.
There might also be a concern that overlooking Joseph, who has been back in the New Zealand system for three years after his time with the Japanese national side and earned warm reviews for his work with the second-string All Blacks XV, sets a bad precedent.
Rennie has been gone for nearly a decade — a lifetime in professional sport — but the counterpoint is that the last New Zealand Rugby appointment (Robertson) was here and fresh off an astonishing run of success, and that did not translate into a particularly successful All Blacks team.
There will be intense interest in whether Rennie retains all or some of the All Blacks’ main assistant coaching staff of Scott Hansen, Jason Ryan and Tamati Ellison.
"But when a head coach leaves, it affects a lot of people. What I want to do is to sit down and talk to some of the affected people and then make some decisions over the next week or two."
It will not be a shock if Rennie makes a change to the captaincy, perhaps promoting Ardie Savea, the All Blacks’ best player who is presently on sabbatical with Rennie’s Kobe club.
The new coach would not be drawn too much on the leadership yesterday but said he would seek out incumbent Scott Barrett for a chat.
He said he took the job with "no loyalties" and every player had to earn the right to wear the jersey.
Rennie is proud to become the first All Blacks coach with Pasifika heritage.
"My Mum, she’s from a small village in Rarotonga, just a beautiful part of the world.
"She was a really great athlete as a kid. Left for New Zealand to make a bit of money for the family and met Dad.
"She was hard-working, inspirational, and she had a massive impact on me and my brothers and sisters. I know she’d be really proud."
The All Blacks were underwhelming in Robertson’s two years in the job, and Rennie showed an awareness of the task ahead when asked if they could win the World Cup in Australia next year.
"It’ll take a hell of a lot of work.
"By the time we start, we’ll have about 15 months to the World Cup, and we’re well aware how the draw works out in typical fashion in the World Cup — likely to meet South Africa in the quarterfinals.
"Get the athletes in the best possible position to execute and play well. It’s a sprint from here.
"Coaching the All Blacks is an incredible honour. I’m extremely proud to have been entrusted with this role and understand the expectations that come with it.
"We have a lot of talent here and we will be working extremely hard to make the country proud."
