'Relief' for Rennie following All Blacks' thriller against France
REACTION: Dave Rennie said he felt “relief” after New Zealand edged France 34-32 in their Nations Championship opener on Saturday, his first game in charge of the All Blacks.
*Also read: Rennie’s All Blacks survive French scare in opener
New Zealand came from behind three times in Christchurch and then clung on to defeat an under-strength French team without any players from top sides Toulouse and Montpellier.
New Zealand fired former coach Scott Robertson in January after two lacklustre years in charge, replacing him with the 62-year-old Rennie, who most recently coached Kobe in Japan.
Rennie promised “optimistic” rugby from his team, wanting to limit kicking and free up his players to run and attack when they see an opportunity.
“I love the effort. I love the optimism,” Rennie told reporters.
“We were able to play with a really high tempo, a lot of quick ball, almost 85 percent, which is just outrageous.
“We did a lot of really good things with the ball.”
But Rennie highlighted a number of errors and a mixed defensive effort as New Zealand were able to recycle the ball rapidly at the breakdown, but France were just as quick as they scored four tries to the All Blacks’ five.
“I can’t fault the effort, I love the mindset, but we’ve got to be a lot more accurate,” Rennie said.
“We just need more time, more reps, more work around the combinations.
“There’s a lot of guts. We scrambled really well at times, but we’ve got to get off the line and apply a lot more pressure, give them slow balls so we can reset and get off the line and do it again.”
Rennie’s bold selection of Ruben Love at flyhalf paid off when the 25-year-old was on the field, having copped an early yellow card for a high tackle.
His direct running and crisp passing saw gaps created in the French defence.
“He’s impressive,” Rennie said.
“He’s very confident. He’s taken control. Doesn’t mind bossing around some of the old fellas, so I’m really pleased for him.”
Flanker Peter Lakai, who scored a try, said his team had “a few things to work on” as they prepare for Nations Championship matches against Italy and Ireland in the next fortnight.
“We scored some brilliant tries, but we also let in a few soft ones,” Lakai said.
“It’s just about polishing. We’ve been together for one week, so it’s just building combinations, and we’ll take our learnings.”
Rennie promised there was more to come from his squad.
“We’re going to be better,” he said.
“We certainly weren’t high-fiving and jumping for joy.
“We’re happy to win, and we’ve got a game under our belt, and we’ll build on that”.
