Rennie warns All Blacks to 'up the ante' as Bok Test looms large
REACTION: All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie was pleased with his side’s dominant 50-19 victory over the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday but warned they will need to reach another level when they face the Springboks in the first Test of the Greatest Rivalry tour next Saturday.
New Zealand completed their preparations in the best way possible, outplaying the Bulls in a one-sided contest in front of over 30,000 spectators at Loftus Versfeld Stadium.
The visitors outscored their opponents by eight to three tries, dominated territory and possession and used their set pieces to full effect.
It’s a performance Rennie believes will leave his side in good stead for the rest of the tour.
“50 points against a very good Bulls side is a positive,” he said.
*Continues below…
Rennie confident All Black stars will be fit for Springboks Testhttps://t.co/AmplzWnrdV
— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) August 15, 2026
“We played a team that was prepared to play and really took it to us. I thought our set piece was strong, especially the scrum.
“From a discipline point of view, it was a lot better. We created so many opportunities, 11 line breaks to one, so we probably left a few points out there, which is frustrating, but I can’t fault the effort.
“There will be a number of boys who will be better for the opportunity to run around at altitude.”
The All Blacks coach has been very vocal about using the club matches to share the load between his wider squad.
After three matches, Rennie and Co have managed to give the majority of players some game time, barring those who are carrying niggles and injuries.
While the coach believes his side will be best suited to tackle the Boks, he’s not oblivious to the task awaiting them.
“We had a lot of opportunities to really play on top of the Bulls and force defenders to make decisions.
“It was almost like we were training for the Springboks; we were coming a lot harder defensively.
“It’s good for us; we’ve now got a game at altitude, and the guys have an appreciation for that. I thought we worked hard in those circumstances, and we’ll be better for it.
“What we know is that the intensity levels and the quality we’re going to come up against next week are three, four, or fivefolds, but we’ve played reasonably well on tour, and we know we need to up the ante.”
*Continues below…
Rennie also confirmed he will make wholesale changes to the team that faced the Bulls for the First Test.
Scrumhalf Cam Roigard and Will Jordan are expected to come into the side after sitting out the first three matches due to injuries.
Damian McKenzie, meanwhile, twisted his ankle against the Sharks and will be touch-and-go for the first Test.
However, the All Blacks have good depth in their backline, and Rennie admitted some players put their hands up against the Bulls.
“That certainly wasn’t our Test side tonight, and so there will be a number of changes,” he shared.
“There were some really good performances that will put pressure on us from a selection point of view.
“It’s nice to have seven days to get over that. We’ve got a plan around selection; there were a handful of positions that were going to be decided based on tonight’s performances.”
