All Blacks captain Scott Barrett opens up on talks with Dave Rennie

Now that incoming All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has secured the services of his assistant coaches, it will be time to start settling on his leadership group heading into the 2026 season.

Crusaders lock Scott Barrett is the incumbent captain, after leading the side through former head coach Scott Robertson’s tenure, alongside the likes of Ardie Savea, Jordie Barrett, and Codie Taylor as vice-captains.

But with Robertson and all but one of his coaching staff members being replaced by Rennie’s crew, there could be a world where a new captain is appointed.

Speaking to New Zealand Herald’s Mike Thorpe, Barrett opened up on the discussions he’s already had with Rennie, after the announcement of the head coach’s contract up until the end of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

“He just introduced himself and had a conversation on what he’s going to bring to the team and some of the expectations around the type of athlete that he’s looking for and the game that we want to play,” Barrett told The New Zealand Herald.

“That was the first introduction that he had with the group and myself, so, yeah, it’s a bit of a transition period, but I think he’ll hit the ground running.”

The All Blacks have a number of experienced players in and around the squad that could be captain candidates, including the number of vice-captains that were in the leadership group under Robertson.

Taylor and Savea have both played over 100-Tests for the All Blacks, while Jordie Barrett has 78 Tests to his name.

Barrett admits there’s been no specific discussion around the leadership role with Rennie.

“No, nothing yet. I think he’s still working through his coaching team and management from what I understand.

“I’ll sort of wait for that conversation, I guess, and until then I think I’ll just keep chipping away with my rehab and pre-season and look forward to getting back and playing some rugby soon.”

Despite not having much experience with Rennie, the 89-Test All Black veteran knows there’s a specific way his teams play, and that from what he’s seen, the new head coach is a “sharp” operator.

“You can sort of see the way previous teams have played. The Chiefs team, the style and the DNA that they want to bring out in their game, that’s sort of unique to his style of coaching and obviously being influenced by [Sir] Wayne Smith,” Barrett said on The Herald.

“He’s a sharp coach and I think he’ll have a positive influence on the group as well.”