AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - MARCH 04: New Zealand All Black Head Coach Dave Rennie speaks to media during a press conference on March 04, 2026 in Auckland, New Zealand. Dave Rennie was today announced as the new All Black Coach. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
The Springboks finally know who’ll be in charge of their biggest rivals when Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tour takes place in South Africa later this year.
Dave Rennie will coach the New Zealand national team on tour to this country after being named new boss of the All Blacks on Wednesday.
His appointment to one of rugby’s toughest jobs ends a messy couple of months for New Zealand Rugby, since the surprise axing of Scott Robertson in January.
Rennie, who has an extremely impressive coaching resumé, is currently coaching the Kobe Steelers in Japan and he will officially join up with the All Blacks at the end of the Japanese League One season, which concludes with the playoffs in June.
He then has a massive task of guiding the All Blacks through the first three rounds of the Nations Championship, and getting them ready for their biggest tour of the year, to South Africa.
No bigger game
There is no bigger game than the Springboks against the All Blacks, and with traditional tours being reignited between the two rugby powerhouses, it will likely be viewed as the biggest event featuring the two countries, outside of the Rugby World Cup.
Despite a strong run before and during the 2023 World Cup in France, New Zealand have largely struggled since Covid, under previous coaches Ian Foster and Robertson, with them unable to reach the same heady standards as during the dominant 2010s.
The question now is whether Rennie will be able to turn things around. A series win over the Boks in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series will go a long way towards proving that they have what it takes to return to the top, going into the World Cup in Australia next year.
Rennie’s other high profile international gig was coaching the Wallabies from 2020 to 2023, and during that time he enjoyed a successful record over the Boks, with Australia winning three out of the four matches that they played.
But he was unceremoniously dumped for Eddie Jones at the start of a World Cup year, and he will likely be eager to show that was a major mistake.
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