All Blacks legend Kieran Read has urged Dave Rennie not to shake things up too much in what will be a \u201ctough\u201d balancing act for the new boss.<\/p>\n
The 62-year-old has replaced Scott Robertson as New Zealand\u2019s head coach but will only take full charge once the Japan Rugby League One season has finished.<\/p>\n
Rennie<\/a> is currently the head honcho at the Kobelco Kobe Steelers and will therefore only have a few weeks with the All Blacks<\/a> players before the Nations Championship begins in July.<\/p>\n He has, however, got his coaching group on board having brought in Tana Umaga, Mike Blair and Neil Barnes alongside Jason Ryan, who is the sole survivor from Robertson\u2019s<\/a> regime.<\/p>\n The new backroom team will undoubtedly change matters and mould the game plan but Read<\/a> hopes that they will allow the players to air their views about what is required.<\/p>\n \u2018That\u2019s all to do with 130 years of history\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s tough for him I think, especially now when he\u2019s going to be up in Japan. I don\u2019t think he will have any communication with the players aside from Ardie Savea and Anton Lienert-Brown who are in his [Kobe] team,\u201d he told the Between Two Beers podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cThat will give him a perspective which is handy.<\/p>\n \u201cI can only see Dave from the outside and he looked like an awesome coach here at the Chiefs and what he\u2019s done at the Wallabies. He had them kind of turned around just before they got rid of him for some stupid reason.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I look back over the past few years, the All Black group just needs to know exactly who they are and I think the key thing is coaching, players and the management group being aligned and connected in what they\u2019re trying to achieve and then, man, this team will do bloody well.<\/p>\n \u201cThat to me is the key. I can\u2019t speak for too much about what Dave\u2019s going to bring but I don\u2019t think he can come in and say: \u2018This is the way it is\u2019.<\/p>\n Kieran Read admits NZ Rugby turmoil is \u2018hard to watch\u2019 and opens door to help beleaguered governing body<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s got to make sure he utilises the players\u2019 voice and the senior players in there who care so much about that jersey and have the understanding of who we are, what we stand for and what this place means for us.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s all to do with 130 years of history.\u201d<\/p>\n Read was only ever part of an All Blacks environment that promoted their coaches from within. The former captain therefore compared the current situation to his time with the Crusaders where he worked under Robbie Deans, Todd Blackadder and Robertson.<\/p>\n Influence of Scott Robertson<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the Crusaders perspective when Todd Blackadder and Razor came in\u2026 what those two did really well was that they were Crusader men so they knew the ethos of what it is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cDave being in New Zealand rugby for a long time knows the type of place it is.<\/p>\n \u201cAs players you don\u2019t want something completely fresh, you want to still feel connected to what it is, but as players you\u2019re also trying to impress as a new coach is going to bring fresh ideas and a little bit of a change.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cThat was awesome for us when Razor came in at the Crusaders.<\/p>\n