Rennie hints at copying Rassie's blueprint ahead of Sharks showdown
REACTION: New Zealand head coach Dave Rennie revealed that a new-look All Black team will be selected to face the Sharks on Tuesday following their tour opener win against the Stormers on Friday.
The All Blacks would have several questions following a patchy display against a plucky Stormers side who they blew away in the final quarter by 38-21 in Cape Town, but Rennie will take the learnings from it and shift the focus to the job at hand in Durban.
*Also read: Stormers reflect on the one that got away
The All Black boss said he will use the Greatest Rivalry tour to build depth with the short- and long-term future in mind, much like Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus did when he took the reins in 2018.
“That’s what we’re working on, [building depth]. Rassie [Erasmus] has been doing it for eight years, where we are a couple of months into it.
“We bought over a good squad. Not a lot of the guys who played tonight [Friday] had big minutes in the [Nations Championship] Test series.
“That’s pleasing for us. They’ve got some good, tough footy in tonight and they’ll be better for that.
“There will be an enormous amount of changes for the side that’s playing the Sharks on Tuesday.
“Tours like this are great for us though with Tests to build depth. Heading into a World Cup, we’re learning a lot about the players we’ve got here [on tour].”
Rennie added a core group of players will retain their spot against the Sharks and that he’ll continue to rotate the teams before the first Test against the Boks.
“There will be a handful of guys from tonight who will back up, but there will be several changes and likewise when we play the Bulls four days after that.
“It’s exciting. We wanted to be flawless tonight, and we know we can be a lot better, and now we’ve got to wait four days to get another crack at it.
“I’m excited about the upcoming games, and it will give us a pretty good indication of what our best lineup will be for that first Test.”
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Reflecting on their performance against the Stormers, Rennie gave his team a pat on the back for the way they handled tough moments in a match that was in the balance until the final 10 minutes.
“We probably lacked a bit of balance tonight at times. When we were down to 13 [players], we just went multi-phase inside our own 22.
“The thinking there was just trying to chew [minutes] off the clock instead of giving possession back to the Stormers and defend with 13 players.
“I thought the boys coped well with that, but there were times during the second half where there was a lot on, and we could’ve put a contestable [kick] up to put the pressure on the Stormers.
“Certainly when we kicked later in the game we got reward from it, so that was a bit more balanced.”
“What a moment for those guys playing their first game for the All Blacks, wearing the jersey, singing the national anthem and doing the haka playing at a fantastic stadium.
“Siale [Lauaki] is a big man, and you could see the impact he could have on a game in that last scrum; he’ll be better for the occasion.
“I felt Josh [Jacomb] was really composed. A lot of those guys will play more minutes on tour, but for them it’s a special time for themselves and their families.”
Also read: Player Ratings: Stormers
