All Blacks coach Dave Rennie says there was a cultural divide between the Wallabies and Rugby Australia before his sacking as Australian coach in 2023, and that he felt sorry for the players while watching a potentially promising Rugby World Cup campaign turn to dust later in the year.
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campaign → say → year
In an exclusive sit-down interview with the Herald, Rennie spoke for the first time about his tenure as Wallabies coach – and brutal exit – having kept a dignified silence since being blindsided by RA’s contentious decision to replace him with Eddie Jones almost four years ago.
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Rennie → sit → Jones
The 62-year-old coached the Wallabies in 34 Tests between 2020 and early 2023.
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old → coach → 2020
After a three-season stint in Japan following his departure from the Wallabies, Rennie was appointed as All Blacks coach earlier this year.
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Rennie → follow → coach
Rennie coached New Zealand to a win over his old side last weekend in Auckland, and will lead them on Australian soil for the first time on Saturday in the second Bledisloe Cup clash in Sydney.
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Rennie → coach → Sydney
Having tried and failed with the Wallabies, Rennie finally got his hands on the silver trophy last weekend.
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Rennie → try → trophy
“Once all the boys had a swig out of it, all us old fellas did, too,” Rennie said.
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Rennie → have → it
“There were a few photos taken, and we even took it back to the hotel and lots of the families got photos with it.
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lots → be → it
The end of the road for Rennie with the Wallabies came after a season of mixed results in which they lost a majority of games but also beat England, Argentina and South Africa, and were moments away from beating New Zealand in Melbourne before being penalised, bizarrely, for time-wasting in the final minute, and losing 39-37.
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they → come → minute
The Wallabies then beat Scotland and Wales on their spring tour, and narrowly lost to leading sides France and Ireland.
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Wallabies → beat → France
“No one was beating either of those teams at their home ground at that time, and we should have beaten both of them,” Rennie recalls.
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Rennie → beat → them
“But we also lost to Italy, of course.”
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we → lose → course
Rennie opted to make major changes for the Italy clash, resting 12 starters, and the Wallabies were upset in Florence, 28-27.
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Wallabies → opt → Florence
“I have no regrets around what we did for that,” Rennie said.
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Rennie → have → that
“The original plan was we were supposed to have three games on that tour, and we ended up having five.
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we → suppose → five
So we were book-ending with a couple of games that were going to make a lot of money.
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that → end → money
“You do it because it’s good for the game here financially.
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it → do → game
But it needed to come with some understanding that we can’t put our top team out five weeks in a row.
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we → need → row
“My concern was we’d limp into Dublin and get absolutely pumped a year out from a World Cup.
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we → limp → Cup
We had a good team on the field, and were good enough to win.
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We → have → field
We just didn’t play well enough.”
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We → play → ?
Rennie said he still feels the Italy strategy “was the right thing to do”, and the team were unlucky to lose to Ireland a week later.
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team → say → Ireland
Future superstar Mark Nawaqanitawase then scored twice in a last-up win over Wales.
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Nawaqanitawase → score → Wales
“We left Europe knowing that we’ve got a lot of injured players to come back in the mix in ’23, and we had a pretty positive frame of mind,” he said.
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he → leave → mind
“We had a camp at the start of January, and we had a pretty clear direction, and the boys were in a really positive frame of mind.
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boys → have → mind
Until about two days later, when things changed.”
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things → change → ?
An independent review of the Wallabies’ 5-9 season had been conducted at the end of 2022, and it concluded Rennie still had the support of dressing room.
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Rennie → conduct → room
But behind the scenes, Jones had been lined up as his replacement, and the RA board made the call to part ways with Rennie.
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board → line → Rennie
On a Sunday night, Rennie was asked to attend the RA offices the next day to speak with then CEO Andy Marinos, who was in South Africa, on a video call.
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who → ask → call
Due to attend Waratahs training at 7am, Rennie asked for the meeting to be held at 6.30am.
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meeting → Due → 6.30am
Then-RA director and now chief executive Phil Waugh also attended.
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Waugh → attend → ?
Rennie was given the news.
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Rennie → give → news
Prepared videos about Jones’ homecoming were rolled out on RA social media channels by lunchtime.
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videos → prepare → lunchtime
Rennie flew back to his Gold Coast home and issued a brief statement through RA a few days later, thanking people for their support and, significantly, pointing out he maintained the support of players and staff.
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he → fly → players
Despite many requests, Rennie did not then speak publicly about his Wallabies experience for several years afterwards.
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Rennie → speak → years
He gave some short answers in press conferences when appointed as All Blacks coach earlier this year, but brushed off questions about his Wallabies sacking again in Auckland last week, maintaining, “It’s not about me”.
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It → give → me
Sitting in the All Blacks’ Double Bay hotel this week, Rennie again emphasised there was no special motivation to beat the Wallabies given his personal history, and that he maintained many strong friendships in Australian rugby.
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he → sit → rugby
Asked what he had learned from his time as Wallabies coach, however, Rennie pointed to what he felt was a roadblock.
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he → ask → coach
“There was probably a disconnect between the Wallabies and Rugby Australia, in the direction we were trying to head,” Rennie said.
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Rennie → be → direction
“I thought, culturall,y we were different.
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we → think → ?
…and 60 more, not listed.
The Aporia
