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The All Blacks need Rennie, but they also need the public

New Zealand perform a haka during The Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa Springboks at Eden Park on September 06, 2025 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
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49 Comments

I get a bit tired of people talking to me about the New Zealand Warriors. 

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It’s not that I don’t like rugby league. I enjoy it immensely, to be honest. Just maybe not the Warriors. 

Only you can’t avoid them. When people in my neck of the woods say ‘are you watching the game’ or ‘did you see the game’ it’s not the Hurricanes or All Blacks they’re referring to anymore. 

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It’s a trend that dates back about four or five years now, as dyed in the wool rugby men became disenchanted with our national team and instead started greeting each other after a Warriors win with a hearty ‘up the Wahs’. 

I can’t be alone in noticing this. I suspect new All Blacks assistant coach Neil Barnes has too, judging by comments he’s made since being appointed to the role. 

I’m a Barnes fan. As I am of incoming head coach Dave Rennie.  

They’re normal, decent, hardworking New Zealanders. Salt of the earth, honest, astute. 

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And exactly what we need in order for rugby and the All Blacks to be viewed with the kind of affection that’s currently reserved for the Warriors. 

You could look at a couple of things Barnes said to reporters last week and regard them as hyperbolic, but they’re not. 

Asked why he’d encouraged Rennie to apply for the vacant All Blacks coaching job, Barnes said this: “I care about my country and the All Black jersey and I just felt we need some alignment at the moment. 

“We need the whole country to be working in the same direction and I couldn’t think of a better person [to do that than Rennie]. 

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“It was just a simple message – your country needs you at the moment.’’ 

The All Blacks have lost a few people in recent years. Performances have been patchy, players have behaved like primadonnas and the collective pride we felt in the All Blacks representing us on the world stage has waned. 

The country does need Rennie, but the All Blacks also need us. 

It’s jarring to hear people talk about their Fantasy NRL teams. It’s baffling to hear about their faith in the Warriors. 

But it’s also a reality, unfortunately. 

Barnes and Rennie get that. They’re men who live in the real world. And, at first blush, everything they’re doing and saying suggests they want us back on the bandwagon. 

Rugby in New Zealand is not in crisis, but nor is it in the best of heart. It needs men at the helm of our flagship team who inspire confidence across the nation, not just within the All Blacks dressing room. 

It’s not about crushing the Warriors, because you can like marmite and peanut butter equally if you want. But it is about acknowledging, as Barnes did, that it’s going to take a collective effort to get the All Blacks back to where we’d all like them to be. 

Aside from being the truth, it’s also canny messaging. 

People have become disconnected from the All Blacks. The warmth of feeling has dissipated and there’s been a sense of anger towards the team at times. 

You will support teams, in the true sense of the word, through difficult periods if you can relate to them and if you feel they care about you. 

I’ve written previously about Rennie’s way with people. As Barnes succinctly put it, Rennie “cares.’’ 

The crucial thing about the early signs from this coaching group is they don’t just care about themselves. They care about the country and that means me and you. 

If we see ourselves represented in the values and performances of our national team, then we’re more likely to forgive them the odd stumble along the way. 

These are heartening times, rugby fans. The groundwork is being laid for a return to traditional values and a commitment to being a team for all New Zealand. 

Up the All Blacks. 

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49 Comments
u
unknown 44 days ago

Part of the problem has been all the off field drama over the last number of years. Also what hasn't helped is the NZ media covering these storys which has turned into an All Blacks, Super rugby, NZR bashing machine by focusing more on negatives then positives. I like Gregor Paul but he has been one of the worst. I get that we need Truth to Power etc but it becomes counter productive for the game in the long run.

J
JW 44 days ago

Yup started with the lop sided SR back when SA and new teams were part of it. Like fn get over yourselves people, its a fn continental competition, its impossible to fair and competitive. Hard enough in a domestic league like NRL.

j
johnz 44 days ago

I don’t care about the Warriors, but there’s no doubt fans have become disenfranchised. And you can’t blame them.


It all started under Fozzie. The records started tumbling, and the proud history of AB success was damaged.


The AB’s solution? Close shop and play the victim.


Fozzie is great at playing the victim and still does it. Unfortunately, that attitude seemed to affect the team’s culture.


It became us against them. Who can ever forget Sam Cane telling us he doesn’t worry about the fans because “the fans don’t know what they’re talking about”.


Access to players became scripted. Interviews weren’t allowed without their media shaperone standing nearby, always looking nervous that the player would go off script.


Meanwhile, NZR embarked on flogging the jersey to the highest bidder while forgetting about the true fans.


And the performances didn’t improve.


You can’t blame the fans. While performance and financial problems mounted at NZR, the fans were systematically alienated to dodge scrutiny.


Finally, it feels like there’s some light at the end of the tunnel. How refreshing it is to hear Barnes say they’re doing it for NZ, not for Silverlake or some KPIs.


I’m already 100x clearer on this coaching team’s strategy than the last two regimes. I feel like we’ve been invited in, and we finally have a confident brains trust appointed on merit.


The signs are positive. I just hope it’s not too late to win back the many disillusioned fans.

J
JW 44 days ago

Yep, I don’t know how the guy can think staying on was a good idea for the country and their team. Even applying in the first place tells you something was wrong with him.


I don’t want to hear about the word care like we constantly did from the last regime though, like that shouldn’t be something that’s needed to be drilled into them. I hope Rennie gets rid of the players that don’t have the same emotions as he and Barnes do.

A
Atlas 44 days ago

Know I'm late to this conversation but last time I've been to NZ it was all union. No talk about league. Is this just comment bait or a real thing? But talk about rugby…are the ground roots still there or just a few top schools?

J
JW 44 days ago

There have always been a few league strongholds, you would have always heard in it places in AK and CHCH, so yes and no.


You definitely see a focus for it from media and the local broadcaster though, but I think that’s solely down to economics of the country (being poor and not wanting to pay for reporters or broadcast crew).


Personally, as a city slicker, yes, rural, no.

H
Hammer Head 44 days ago

I agree with Hamish. AB supporters are the weakest link in the system.


They suffer from retrospective exceptionalism and inherited triumphalism.


You can’t only back your team when they’re winning 90% of their games.


Discuss.

J
Jordon 44 days ago

As a bok fan its hard to understand. Part of the reason the ABs have been so great over time is because that is the expectation of the nz public, to be great. The NZ public has a relationship with the ABs that few if any national populations have with an elite team anywhere in the world. It is the strong link, not the weak one. And it’s why we still have a winning record over you despite SAs obvious advantages. We will always produce the players capable of being the best team in the world at any moment.


High performance starts at the top. The nz rugby public has been let down by inept leadership and decisions that resulted in us burning our best coaches and sending them overseas disgusted at how they were treated by NZR. There is good reason that for years NZR has been referred to as the politburo. Dave rennie should have got the job in 2019, JJ and TB should have got the job in 2023. Our optimism now is because the top brass looks a lot different than it has for a long time

j
johnz 44 days ago

That’s not accurate. It could be argued that the AB supporters are a massive strength.


They demand high standards. The day they stop doing that is a worry.


Fans have been more disgruntled at the way the team has been managed and coached. We can all see it could be a lot better. That’s a lot different from not backing your team, it’s frustration.


It just shows people still care. At least those who haven’t switched allegiance to the Warriors.

C
CG 45 days ago

Bidwell and the Waas are equally pathetic

I hope the ABs don’t join them in the hole of hopelessness

J
JW 45 days ago

This is just an indictment on Aucklanders, I find it absolutely hilarious that it’s Hamilton that is having to carry the can for keeping the name of rugby in good stead in the North Island.


And frankly if the are enjoying the Warriors and the NRL, you can’t see much hope for Auckland or the Blues having the quality people it needs coming through to turn the area around.

H
Hammer Head 44 days ago

I thought all New Zealanders were from Auckland.


Are there other habitable places on that volcanic rock?

J
Jordon 45 days ago

You can like marmite and peanut better, but can you have them at the same time??


On another note what truly baffles me is when kiwi league fans don’t just support the warriors, but they actually have their favourite AUSSIE teams 🤮

J
JW 44 days ago

Yup, why don’t aussies have their favourite kiwi team?

B
BH 44 days ago

The worst NZ league fans are the ones who hate the Warriors and support another team instead. And the ones who watch State of Origin but don’t watch and support either the Warriors or the Kiwis or both.

H
Hammer Head 44 days ago

You also can’t mix sh1t with ice cream.

O
Otagoman II 45 days ago

It’s because many of those kiwi league fans have ties to those teams going back decades from former residence or work or family links before the Auckland Warriors existed.

I
Icefarrow 45 days ago

I don’t hear anyone talk about the Warriors outside of Auckland, who seem convinced they’re the only populated area in our entire country. Every single time I hear anyone else mention them it’s from the bootlicking media, who are repeatedly trying to shove this team full of losers down our throat.


I’m also convinced Bidwell here doesn’t understand the inherent irony contained in phrases like “up the Wahs” and “it’s our year”, as the Warriors have choked every single time they’ve made the playoffs over thirty or whatever years of existing.


People follow the All Blacks because they’re meant to be a team of winners, people follow the Warriors because they’re underdogs. You’re comparing apples and oranges here.

H
Hammer Head 44 days ago

Never heard of the Warriors until now.

J
John Breslin 45 days ago

Respectfully, the national union team have also fairly choked/shyte the nest, in recent times


A 2019 RWC exit which was so limp it didn't live up to the billing of even a ‘semi’ (or half-mast)


Lost a home series in 2022 and then a 2023 RWC final


They still have their Eden Park record at least


To be fair to the Warriors, they aren't now reduced to being a touring team, solely to generate funds for their union

B
BH 45 days ago

I don’t know who you hang around with or talk to. Must be rugby nerds. The Warriors are very popular all around the country. Walk around any small town and you’re most likely to see someone wearing a Warriors jersey. Especially kids. They’re doing signings, training sessions and interviews within the community and at schools.


They have sold out three games in a row in Christchurch.


They’re one of the highest selling teams in terms of merchandise.


At most games in Australia, you can hear the “Warriors” chants from the large groups of Warriors supporters.


Facts > your anecdotal observations and opinions


And they’re definitely not losers. Only online trolls and haters like you are. They’ve been in consistently good form for the past wee while, and honestly, no team would have defeated the Panthers (4 in a row), Storm, Roosters, and Broncos in the past decade of grand finals.


RTS, JFH and Capewell are past premiership winners. Coach Webster was a part of the Panthers coaching group during their dynasty run.

S
SB 45 days ago

The intelligent fans will recognise that losing is part of growing, particularly if there are encouraging or improving signs in the performances.

J
JW 44 days ago

The Warriors having only been shrinking for a couple of decades now.

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