'He's no dummy': Sir Steve Hansen on new All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie

Former All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen believes incoming head coach Dave Rennie’s time at the Wallabies will prove invaluable in his new role.

Rennie took charge of the Wallabies from 2020-2022 during the disrupted Covid years. He registered a 38 per cent winning rate with the team which led to him being let go in favour of head coach Eddie Jones.

In hindsight, Rennie’s mark was impressive compared to that of Jones. The Wallabies only beat the All Blacks once under Rennie in nine Tests, but they managed to beat the World Cup holders South Africa three out of four times.

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Hansen himself coached Wales before getting a shot with the All Blacks, producing a similar record with just 10 wins from 30 Tests at a win rate of 33 per cent.

Speaking with Martin Devlin, Hansen said that it will be “advantageous” for Rennie.

“It’s advantageous for everybody, like the bigger your pool of experience, the bigger the opportunity to learn,” he told Martin Devlin on the DSPN podcast.

“So, he’s no dummy; he would have learned from things that have happened to him along the way in his coaching career, and some of those things have happened overseas.

“He went through a tough time with the Wallabies; he’ll learn from that. That’ll make him that’ll make him hungry for wanting to be successful.

“He’s a passionate New Zealander, so he’ll want the All Blacks to be good.”

Hansen said the All Blacks environment can be “overwhelming” due to the unique pressure of the role, but he was impressed with Rennie’s communication style that was clear and understandable.

“When he talks, it makes sense,” Hansen said.

“I can understand what he’s trying to say and where he’s driving it. So if I can, then that probably means every other New Zealander can and that’s important. You need to be able to use the experiences, the good and the bad and the ugly, to shape you to become better.

“When you’re in the All Black environment, you want to be better all the time. The All Black environment is different from anything you’ve ever done before, but the wider your experience is beforehand, the easier it is for you to deal with the environment.

“It can be really, really overwhelming because the expectations are massive, it’s constant, and they are there every day.

“It’s just unbelievable pressure, but experience, but it is important going into that, and obviously, the bigger pool of things you have to face makes it easier, and he’s a well-experienced coach.”