Tana Umaga on Boks: 'They're going to be sitting over there waiting for us'

Rennie’s side heads into the tour to South Africa on the back of three wins from their first three Nations Championship fixtures in July, against France, Italy, and Ireland.

The former Moana Pasifika head coach is the designated “defence coach” in the All Blacks setup, while Neil Barnes, Jason Ryan, and Mike Blair also assist Rennie in other areas.

The All Blacks’ defence has been a huge talking point during Rennie’s short tenure to date, but Rennie said he was happy with the shifts the group have made in the short time together.

“Tana and his group did a massive amount of work and we’re starting to get a bit of a response,” Rennie said post-match against Ireland.

“You always have a picture in your head of how the game would go, and we knew that they’d be at us with the ball in hand, and they bring a lot of defensive pressure on us,” Umaga told Pine.

“It’s really satisfying. I watched the game back this morning, and being out there last night, I think we’re we’re happy with the win. But obviously, there’s always things to to work on.

“We’ve improved in the in the first three games, so that’s great for the players and and for us.

“I thought our attack really kept their feet and handled that as well as we could. I mean we just mixed it up well with our forwards who worked tirelessly all night and our backs taking good options.”

The former All Black captain said they have focused on becoming a team that New Zealand is proud of, along with the physical aspects of the game.

“We definitely want to be seen as a team that shows a lot of optimism around the way we play, and we know there’s certain things that we can’t get away from, and we’ve talked about the physicality of the game and making sure we stand up in those areas.

“But in the end, that’s what people will judge us on, and that’s for them to make that opinion. And we want to make sure that we’re presenting ourselves and showcasing a kind of game that people will be proud of in our country.”

As the All Blacks squad and management head their separate ways for two weeks, Umaga admits he’s excited for the tour of South Africa, saying the Springboks will be “waiting for us”.

“You can obviously imagine they’re going to be very physical as you know the South African rugby traditionally is, and you know they’re going to be sitting over there waiting for us to come over.

“So we have to navigate, making sure that all our players are ready for that. They’re ready for if we think we’re fanatical about rugby over here, what it’s like for some that will probably be touring South Africa for the first time.

“They’re passionate about their rugby, as we know, and that they’re very proud of obviously being the number one nation in the world for ages.

“So look, our guys got to make sure that you know we just stay focused on what we’re about. Stick true to what we are and what our identity is. We’re trying to achieve and who we are.

“Because that’s what we’re going to have to rely on when you can’t hear anything, and those cauldrons that they have over there, I think one time when I was over there, there was some oranges thrown at us.”