Jason Ryan has been impressed by Dave Rennie\u2019s start to life as All Blacks head coach as they lay out their vision for the next 18 months.<\/p>\n
The forwards guru is the sole survivor from Scott Robertson\u2019s backroom team, with the new boss bringing in Neil Barnes, Tana Umaga and Mike Blair as his assistants.<\/p>\n
Rennie<\/a> is now Ryan\u2019s third All Blacks<\/a> head coach, having initially joined the set-up in 2022 while Ian Foster was still in charge.<\/p>\n He is a highly rated forwards coach, and the set-piece was one of the few areas which functioned consistently well under Robertson.<\/p>\n What they want from the All Blacks forwards<\/p>\n The new head honcho will obviously determine the game plan and the direction of the team, but the former Crusaders assistant will also have ideas about what he likes to see from his pack.<\/p>\n \u201cRens has been really clear around what his expectations are on the sort of player he wants. We\u2019ve acknowledged that we\u2019ve got some good athletes and when you look at the forward pack, we\u2019ve got a good, dynamic pack that can use footwork at the line. He wants to use them and that\u2019s exciting,\u201d Ryan told Sport Nation.<\/p>\n The new backroom staff is not littered with high profile names, although everyone will know who Umaga is given he is a former All Blacks captain.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s got a unique skill set,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cI know Tana will bring a lot of mana. It\u2019s quite ironic, I did a bit of work with him for the U20s 10 years ago, we were together there, so I\u2019m looking forward to reconnecting.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw what he brings to a team in that short time. It was the time when Jerry Collins passed and it was when the boys did that special haka which Sean Wainui led.<\/p>\n \u201cAll that sort of thing will be tied into the All Blacks in his unique way as well as a pretty unique skill set we\u2019ll all bring to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n