Scotsman Mike Blair will be in charge of the All Blacks\u2019 attack from this season, but he predicts that Dave Rennie will have his say too.<\/p>\n
The former Scotland scrum-half and captain has worked closely with the new All Blacks<\/a> boss during their shared time at Glasgow Warriors and with Kobe in Japan, so he is well versed in how the head coach operates.<\/p>\n Blair has a real challenge on his hands, not just because he is the first foreign coach the team has employed, but also because the attack duties have changed hands frequently in recent seasons.<\/p>\n Brad Mooar was the first attack coach under Ian Foster in 2020, but he left the coaching team in 2022, with the head coach taking on the responsibilities along with Joe Schmidt through to the Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n It was then Leon MacDonald\u2019s turn, along with Jason Holland, during Scott Robertson\u2019s first year in charge, and when the former departed that same year, Scott Hansen also had his say on the attacking structures.<\/p>\n Dave Rennie\u2019s role in the attack<\/p>\n Rennie<\/a> has now handed the reins to the Scotsman<\/a> as the new coaching team looks to get the All Blacks back on track for the 2027 Rugby World Cup and while Blair has been entrusted with running the attack, he expects that the head coach will collaborate with him.<\/p>\n \u201cHead coaches are all different, aren\u2019t they? And the great thing about Rens is that he trusts you to do your area,\u201d he told the Aotearoa Rugby Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe knows that you\u2019re putting the extra work in. You\u2019re watching the extra videos. You\u2019re taking the time to find a solution or find a strategy that\u2019s going to beat the defence. But then Dave is smart, he can watch a video once, and he pinpoints it exactly and if he sees something, he\u2019ll tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n Rennie\u2019s experience with attacking structures will certainly help the team and Blair.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a really interesting collaboration because Rens has traditionally done a lot of the turnover and counter-attack game,\u201d the Scotsman continued.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually did that when I coached at Glasgow with him. So I\u2019ve learned a lot of my philosophies through what he\u2019s done. So we\u2019re pretty aligned now in in what term in in what that looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike Blair: \u2018I regret my time with the British and Irish Lions; the All Blacks is an opportunity to fix that\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n The 44-year-old does want the All Blacks attack to have a clear identity and plan, but stresses that it needs to be adaptable.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can make tweaks for certain opposition, but knowing what you\u2019re looking for in a defence and how you can break that down has been really key to our relationship, but also the ability to challenge each other and ask questions around why you\u2019re doing something or could we do this differently has been a strength as well,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Ardie Savea \u2018vehemently refutes\u2019 revolt against Scott Robertson as details of \u2018shocking\u2019 decision to quit All Blacks revealed<\/a><\/p>\n Passion for attack<\/p>\n Blair started his senior coaching career at the Warriors, working as the club\u2019s assistant coach under Gregor Townsend and then Rennie, whilst also dovetailing as the Scotland assistant coach between 2016 and 2021.<\/p>\n However, he got a massive opportunity in 2021 when he was unveiled as Edinburgh\u2019s head coach, the team he represented as a player over 160 times between 2002 and 2012.<\/p>\n He stayed in that role until 2023, when he made the decision to step down from the position, a bold call considering there are just two club head coach jobs in Scotland.<\/p>\n All Blacks coach makes blunt admission about his position and reveals what he expects from Scott Robertson<\/a><\/p>\n Blair explained that a lack of support from the board and the lack of a director of rugby was part of the reason he quit the job and added that he prefers to focus solely on the attack too.<\/p>\n \u201cThe attack stuff is what I\u2019m passionate about,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI love getting players better, I love the detail around how to beat a particular defence and the different ways of doing that.<\/p>\n