‘Best in the world’: Dave Rennie on keeping Wallabies breakdown ace quiet

It’s safe to say All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie was over the moon with how his side nullified Wallabies No. 7 Fraser McReight across the two Bledisloe Cup fixtures.

Following the All Blacks’ disappointing 3-1 series defeat to South Africa, where Malcolm Marx enjoyed some pay at the breakdown, Rennie clearly challenged his players to respond against the Wallabies.

McReight is among the world’s best in his position, offering the Wallabies genuine breakdown presence across the two-Test series against the All Blacks.

Despite McReight’s class, the All Blacks suffocated his opportunities over the ball, limiting him to very few genuine turnovers across the 2026 Bledisloe Cup series.

They did this at Eden Park just over a week ago, and backed it up at Sydney’s Accor Stadium by clinching a clean sweep against Australia in 2026.

When asked about McReight’s ability over the ball and whether there was a direct plan to stop the Wallabies loose-forward, Rennie made no secret of his respect for the 27-year-old.

“Yeah, look, he’s probably the best in the world, and as I mentioned the other day, they got a great loose-forward trio, and probably as good as any country in the world,” Rennie said post-match in Sydney.

“So, yeah, we’re well aware of Fraser’s threat. He’s not the only one. So, yeah, that’s why the emphasis on the quality of our carry, our ability to fight to stay up a little bit longer and win races.

“We had to target him, and I thought boys were excellent. You know, he’s often in there digging, but he came up with nothing in key moments.”

Rennie’s men produced a near-perfect first-half performance in Sydney, and even with 13 players on the field for the last ten minutes, the visitors held strong.

They faced adversity, no doubt, with Quinn Tupaea failing an HIA in the early stages of the contest, before Samisoni Taukei’aho and Shannon Frizell were both forced from the field with leg injuries.

Having used all of their substitutes, All Blacks captain Codie Taylor was only allowed to enter the field to set the scrum, taking the All Blacks down to 13 men when Chay Fihaki was yellow-carded.

All Blacks captain Codie Taylor, who had an impressive performance with twelve carries, credited the Wallabies’ strong set-piece, admitting they are among the best in the world at lineout time.

“They’ve got a great lineout, I think they’re the best in the world at disrupting opposition ball. We found that out t the start of the last game, and then lost a couple tonight,” Taylor told media on Saturday evening.

“I thought we were a lot better in that area, though. But you know, again, they’ve also got a great maul, one of the best in the world, also. So they’ve really taken a step up there.

“We probably thought we could have a crack at times, but I thought they stood up. You know, they’ve got some good young talent coming through in the front row and stuff, so they’re in a good spot.”