Brodie Retallick believes that Dave Rennie is \u2018scarred\u2019 by his stint with the Wallabies but has come out a better coach because of it.<\/p>\n
The new All Blacks<\/a> head coach was unceremoniously sacked by Rugby Australia in 2023, with Eddie Jones hired as his replacement ahead of the World Cup.<\/p>\n It was a rash decision by the governing body, compounded by the Wallabies<\/a>\u2018 failure to progress past the pool stages of the tournament for the first time.<\/p>\n Retallick<\/a>, who is Rennie\u2019s captain at Japan Rugby League One club the Kobe Steelers, says that while his coach carries baggage from the stint, he is better off now.<\/p>\n The benefit of being out of New Zealand for so long<\/p>\n The All Blacks job will be Rennie\u2019s first gig in New Zealand since departing the Chiefs in 2017 join the Glasgow Warriors. The new boss believes that this is advantageous for him as he has no loyalties to any players and all aspiring All Blacks need to make their case in Super Rugby Pacific.<\/p>\n He claims that he will select his team solely on form, this after many believed that his predecessor was accused of having a Crusaders bias when it came to selection.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, definitely,\u201d Retallick replied when asked by D\u2019Arcy Waldegrave, on\u00a0Newstalk ZB, if being away from New Zealand for so long worked in Rennie\u2019s favour.<\/p>\n \u201cWe obviously talk about the plan, the good times he had, but he was dealt some harsh learnings when he was with the Wallabies. I\u2019m sure that probably scarred him a little bit, but I think he would have grown from that.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I see that in his coaching now, like the wealth of knowledge he has from being amongst those different environments, to be the product he is now.\u201d<\/p>\n Brodie Retallick adds caveat to \u2018no consideration\u2019 response to Dave Rennie\u2019s All Blacks return call<\/a><\/p>\n Dave Rennie\u2019s strength<\/p>\n Retallick and Rennie go a long way back with the latter handing the second rower his Super Rugby debut during their time at the Chiefs.<\/p>\n The lock knows the coach better than most and detailed what he believes makes Rennie such a good head coach, citing his ability to surround himself with the right people, something that the All Blacks boss noted too.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a real strength, and you know he\u2019s brought people in that he worked with over in Scotland and Europe into Kobe, and he still works with Phil and a physio who has been with him from New Zealand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Sonny Bill Williams\u2019 Dave Rennie revelations as All Blacks great predicts appointment will \u2018come back to bite\u2019 the Wallabies<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHe has surrounded himself with quality people which I guess from his point of view makes his job easier, but from a player\u2019s point of view, it gives us a level of coaching that is, in theory, world-class for a Japan team, and that\u2019s down to him really.\u201d<\/p>\n