Dave Rennie won\u2019t be assessed following Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry, NZ Rugby CEO Steve Lancaster confirms.<\/p>\n
The All Blacks suffered three straight defeats to the Springboks after going 1-0 up in the series with a victory at Ellis Park. This came after the team won all of their Nations Championship matches in New Zealand, with the side enjoying an unbeaten streak before falling to defeat in Cape Town to South Africa.<\/p>\n
The CEO says that the break before the Bledisloe Cup Tests<\/a> against the Wallabies feels \u2018like a reset\u2019 for the team ahead of the final set of fixtures this year, which includes the Nations Championship matches in the northern hemisphere.<\/p>\n All Blacks reset before final Tests<\/p>\n Lancaster says the objective for the remainder of the year is simple for Rennie<\/a> and his team: Win the rest of the Test matches.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess coming back from Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry in South Africa and then the final Test in the States \u2013 that felt like such a big event on its own, right. Coming back felt like the end of something. The reality is that our season does go on for another six games for the All Blacks<\/a>,\u201d he told the DSPN podcast with Martin Devlin.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of KPI, it is pretty simple: we want them to win all of those games. The All Blacks\u2019 historical winning record is something that we are acutely aware of, very proud of, and having dropped three Tests, it\u2019s pretty important that we right the ledger over the remainder of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n That prompted the question as to whether this was the time to evaluate Rennie\u2019s performance since taking over as head coach from Scott Robertson.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, not really,\u201d the chief executive replied.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have a set point where we will assess Dave Rennie, so to speak. We have appointed Dave through to the end of the World Cup next year, and everything that we\u2019re doing now is pointing towards the World Cup at the end of next year.<\/p>\n \u201cSo all of the work that Dave and the team are doing, all of the things that we\u2019re doing to support them, are all very much contextualised around the fact that we\u2019ve got a really big prize at the end of next year, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re going after.\u201d<\/p>\n NZ Rugby chief\u2019s verdict on South Africa\u2019s possible Super Rugby return: \u2018They are pretty bullish\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n End-of-season review<\/p>\n The end-of-year review in 2026 led to Robertson\u2019s dismissal and Rennie\u2019s maiden season in charge will be scrutinised in a similar manner after the November internationals.<\/p>\n However, Lancaster adds that it will be done with the context of the short preparation time for the international season. He also revealed that an internal review has been done by the staff following Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry tour.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, absolutely,\u201d he replied when asked whether the same end-of-season review will be conducted.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, when I say the same, we will absolutely conduct a review and, in fact, the management team has done an internal review after the RGR series. They\u2019ve taken a lot out of that. It was a pretty positive review, actually. They\u2019re really happy with where they\u2019re at as a group.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to remember that Dave and his team came in and they had about 10 days\u2019 prep before the first Nations Championship Test at the start of the year, and they\u2019ve literally been sprinting since then. So the opportunity to get through the Nations Championship and RGR, pause, take stock \u2013 actually, things have gone pretty well.<\/p>\n \u201cThey had a group of 90 people in South Africa that they had to move around, had to keep engaged and connected, and they did that pretty well, notwithstanding those three Test results.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we\u2019re at a mid-season checkpoint now; get to the end of the year, we\u2019ll do a full post-season review as we always do. Again, we\u2019ll be looking at what\u2019s gone well, what could be improved, but very much with a lens on how we ensure this team are in the best possible shape going into next year\u2019s World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n Justin Marshall identifies his \u2018main concern\u2019 of All Blacks\u2019 play ahead of Bledisloe Cup<\/a><\/p>\n No excuses for the three defeats<\/p>\n Rennie has been tasked with getting the All Blacks back on track for the 2027 Rugby World Cup and while the three losses to South Africa is a setback for the team, Lancaster says that the close margins of those defeats is a positive for the team.<\/p>\n The CEO says the side is tracking well ahead of next year\u2019s showpiece event but, at the same time, they are not looking for excuses.<\/p>\n