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England star makes wild claim about Rugby World Cup chances 'under Steve'
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Jason Holland shares thoughts on new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie
By Henry Lee
Former All Blacks assistant coach and current Hurricanes attack guru Jason Holland has weighed in on the appointment of new head coach Dave Rennie, months after he left his role with New Zealand Rugby.
Holland was part of former head coach Scott Robertson’s coaching group, largely overseeing the attacking plays from set pieces, while Scott Hansen handled the bulk of the attacking game plan.
The former All Blacks assistant is now back at the Hurricanes under Clark Laidlaw, the team he previously headed as head coach before joining the national environment.
Holland chose not to continue as an All Blacks assistant into the second half of the Rugby World Cup cycle, just over a year after Leon MacDonald, another former assistant, left the coaching staff under Robertson.
Speaking to media in Wellington on Monday, Holland was asked about his thoughts on Rennie’s appointment and whether he had talked to the new head coach.
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“No, not at all. No,” the Hurricanes attack coach said on Monday.
“I know Rens, and I know how he operates. He will be getting everything sorted for himself, before probably you guys know. He is a smart man.”
Since Robertson’s departure, Holland said he’s spoken to the former head coach, labelling the coaching group as a “good group of men”.
“Yeah, I had a couple of good chats to Razor,” Holland told reporters in Wellington.
“He is a good man and obviously really disappointed. So I feel for him, just like I do for some of the other assistant coaches that I worked with.
“They’re a good group of men and you know it’s a tough old time but it’s life, I suppose, in our world.”
Holland explained that the bombshell decision in mid-January was a surprise to him, but that’s what coaches sign up for.
“Yeah, surprised Razor isn’t there anymore but that’s the game we play isn’t it? We sign up for it and that’s the game we play,” Holland added.
“I think it will be interesting to see where they go from here but Rens is a good man and he will have it sorted, and looking forward to seeing what they put out later in the year.”
Aside from discussions about the All Blacks, the 53-year-old said that his Hurricanes side were a little bit inconsistent against the Force in Napier, despite getting the victory.
“We have got to be a bit more accurate at times and we saw that on Friday night.
“There was a little bit of inconsistency in our game; we shipped a bonus point to the Force at the weekend, which we probably shouldn’t have, so lots of good stuff. The boys know we have got to get better than we are at the moment but we can do so, so we are in a good spot.”
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