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International

All Blacks great Tana Umaga to join Dave Rennie’s coaching group – report

By Finn Morton

46 days ago

Moana Pasifika Head Coach Fa’alogo Tana Umaga during the round 15 Super Rugby Pacific match between Chiefs and Moana Pasifika at FMG Stadium, on May 24, 2025, in Hamilton, New Zealand. (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images)

Dave Rennie is expected to include an All Blacks great in his coaching group, as the team ushers in a new era ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup. 1News understands New Zealand Rugby could soon confirm the appointment of Tana Umaga as an assistant coach.

New Zealand broadcaster Scotty Stevenson revealed on Wednesday that Umaga, who is the current head coach of Super Rugby Pacific side Moana Pasifika, could be announced as a member of the All Blacks management group “in the coming days.”

1News has reported that Jason Ryan may be “the one survivor” from Scott Robertson’s time in charge, and Taranaki head coach Neil Barnes is another contender to join Dave Rennie at the All Blacks.

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Rennie coached Umaga when the pair were both with Wellington in the early 2000s. Umaga would go on to captain the All Blacks in more than 20 Tests from 2004 to 2005, famously leading the team during the first Kapa o Pango haka during that period.

Umaga has enjoyed coaching roles with Samoa, the New Zealand Under-20s, Counties Manukau, the Blues and now Moana Pasifika. The 52-year-old has been with Moana for a few seasons, and is now in the final year of his contract with the club.

Rennie was unveiled last week as the next All Blacks head coach, tasked with leading the team through to Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia. That announcement came almost 50 days after NZR parted ways with Scott Robertson.

“Coaching the All Blacks is an incredible honour,” Rennie explained.

“I’m extremely proud to have been entrusted with this role and understand the expectations that come with it.

“I’m really clear on the way I want the All Blacks to play, and I look forward to working with the players, management team, and the rugby community. We have a lot of talent here, and we will be working extremely hard to make the country proud.”

NZR Chair David Kirk said: “On behalf of the Board, I’d like to congratulate Dave on his appointment as All Blacks Head Coach.

“He is a world-class coach who has consistently shown he can build strong performance environments and win.

“Dave understands what it means to coach the All Blacks and play a style of rugby that reflects who we are as New Zealanders. He has a deep understanding of rugby in New Zealand and the role the All Blacks play in shaping our national identity and bringing communities together.”

Comments

12 Comments

Draft 45 days ago

Great players don’t make good coaches.

JW 46 days ago

Welcome back Finn, glad you have recovered well to get straight back into it. It was just yesterday for you when Rennie was announced as AB coach, yeah?

I wouldn’t say Tana is part of Rennie’s coaching group. I think he is rather a NZR selection for what they think the teams needs after the interviews they did with them last year.

I like the appointment, otherwise Hansen would likely have stayed on as Defence coach. But I would have been OK with that too.

B 46 days ago

Tana Umanga has played alongside some AB’s legends and as Captain in 21 tests Won 18, Lost 3…his 85.71% rating wasn't for playing “tiddlywinks”!!??..

GodOfFriedChicken 46 days ago

While Tana’s record on paper isn’t the greatest, we do need to consider what he did with the squads he had:

-Counties Manukau - after the NPC split into Premiership and Championship, took a Counties team that was bottom 5 of the league for a few seasons in a row, took them to the Premiership, got them a Ranfurly Shield and kept them competitive for a few years.

-Took a Blues team that reached a low point of 3 wins in a season and doubled their win total. This was a team that had All Blacks but not many of them were starters at the time. It was also during a notable period of turbulence for the Blues where they had a big disconnect from their NPC unions and were losing a lot of talent to other unions. Also a time when most of the talent was in the backline but the team lacked a 10 who could properly unlock it. They were trending upwards though.

-Moana has by far the messiest roster situation out of every Super Rugby team and they were a whisker of the playoffs last year. Ardie played a big role in that but the team looked much different to what they were under Aaron Mauger.

So his value is pretty understated, he can at least motivate people to punch above their weight.

Bazzallina 46 days ago

Culture and environment if this is on the money Tana will also get fair amount of fan support which cannot be underestimated …happy to see Ryan would still be round comes across with real care for boys, all huggy stuff but massively important

at 46 days ago

Not sure whether this is a good idea, Tana is a great guy but his coaching record is average.

JW 46 days ago

Plus he has no international experience?

John Breslin 46 days ago

Tackle coach. Obviously. Has to be

Careful now

PMcD 46 days ago

I think this would be a very creative solution to start addressing the centre issues and how the AB’s attack.

DC 46 days ago

well lets wait and see about tana working with dave rennie if it happens of course

SB 46 days ago

Wonder if he can do both roles.

SouthernRuckby 46 days ago

It’d be a real shame to drop Bryn Evans, who is the only assistant coach to have consistently delivered under the previous regime. If Ryan stays, I sure hope they brought in a specialist scrum coach, like under Foster.

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