Why has NZ Rugby allowed new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie to stay in Japan?

Thursday, 5 March 2026

ANALYSIS: Rubbing shoulders with an All Blacks coach at Super Rugby fixtures has been a rite of passage for punters when entering the gates of New Zealand stadiums over the last three decades.

They could look across the rows of fans and almost hear the cogs inside the minds of Scott Robertson, Ian Foster, Steve Hansen or Graham Henry whirring as they stared intently at the current, or potential, All Blacks.

That's about to end.

Because new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie will be about 9000km away in Japan when New Zealand's best players attempt to help their teams win the Super Rugby Pacific title.

That means Rennie will have to watch, analyse and take notes of games from afar. No problem, he says, it can be done.

This is how it will work.

Rennie will be allowed to continue to coach the Kobe Kobelco Steelers for as long as they remain in contention for the League One title; if Kobe qualifies for the June 7 final, Rennie won't return to New Zealand until after the Super Rugby Pacific round-robin matches are complete.

The deadlines are tight. The All Blacks' first test of the season against France is in Christchurch on July 4, followed by matches against Italy and Ireland.

Rennie is adamant being domiciled in Japan won't preclude him from assessing, and selecting, players for his first All Blacks squad for the domestic tests. He will return to New Zealand during Kobe's bye weeks.

NZ Rugby has, once again, torn up the playbook.

Just when we think things might be returning to normal, they deliver the equivalent of a blistering left hook to make us think again.

No-one could accuse the organisation of being meek.

In the past it would have been deemed bonkers for NZ Rugby not to demand the All Blacks coach be domiciled in New Zealand so he could catch a flight to attend a match or drop into one of the five clubs and chat with a player or staff member to discuss law changes, tactics or anything else deemed worthy to discuss.

Not anymore.

NZ Rugby continues to lower the blade and bulldoze its way into fresh territory under board chair David Kirk.

It was Kirk who fronted media in Auckland on January 15 to announce NZ Rugby no longer required the services of Robertson as All Blacks coach, two years into what was supposed to be a four-year contract.

In a previous era the dumping of an All Blacks coach midway through his tenure would have been unthinkable.

Robertson's supporters are still miffed that he wasn't given the opportunity to remain in charge through to the World Cup; they believe he was on the right track, and should have been given more opportunities to break bread with the players after their negative feedback following the 2025 season.

But we are learning that NZ Rugby, with Kirk at the helm, is in a mood to be unconventional. Or, to be blunt, controversial.

It was Kirk who stood beside Rennie when it was announced on Wednesday that he would coach the All Blacks through to the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

Usually the chief executive officer would be front and centre on these occasions, but NZ Rugby is still searching for a successor to Mark Robinson following his departure at the end of 2025.

So it was up to Kirk to introduce Rennie as the new All Blacks coach after the board were unanimous in endorsing him ahead of Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph.

It's unclear whether Joseph would have been allowed to stay in charge of the Highlanders - the word around the rugby bonfires is that was what they wanted - if picked ahead of Rennie.

Had Joseph got the green light, he would have been so close to the action each weekend that he could smell the liniment and hear the players yelling at each other.

In 2008 Robbie Deans was named Wallabies coach, but was permitted to coach the Crusaders before crossing the Tasman.

After guiding the powerhouse team to another title, Deans said it had been a busy work schedule, mentoring the players in Christchurch during the day and grafting on his plans for the Wallabies in the evening.

Unlike Rennie, however, Deans had the advantage of seeing the Aussie players in the flesh when they played his Crusaders.

That no longer matters. The decision has been made. The job belongs to Rennie.

Joseph, who guided the All Blacks XV to three wins by playing attractive footy on its northern tour last year, was gracious in defeat. After taking a call from Kirk to be told the bad news on Wednesday morning, Joseph fired a message through to Rennie to congratulate him.

NZ Rugby can't be accused of rushing the process. It was thorough.

After six weeks of investigating how Rennie and Joseph operated on and off the rugby fields, seeking references, conducting psych tests and grilling them in interviews that lasted around four hours they came to the conclusion that Rennie offered the skillset to give the All Blacks the best chance of winning the Webb Ellis Cup.

That's despite Joseph having coached Japan at two global tournaments, in 2019 and 2023, while Rennie was unceremoniously dumped by Rugby Australia less than a year before the Wallabies departed for the 2023 event in France.

Rennie, however, has a CV loaded with coaching experiences around the world over several decades.

He has also worked outside of the rugby circus. Rennie and his wife part-owned a pub called the Lonely Goatherd in the Hutt Valley.

Those close to Rennie say he doesn't suffer fools.

When he coached the Chiefs between 2012 and 2017 he had a habit of rotating players, despite them playing well the previous weekend; it was as if he didn't want to allow them to feel comfortable.

Which brings us to the bold declaration that Rennie made about Brodie Retallick during the press conference on Wednesday.

Rennie said he would love to have former All Blacks lock Retallick, who plays for Rennie's club in Japan, in his test squad.

Retallick, Rennie enthused, was playing out of his skin.

Anyone who has watched the giant second rower, who has played in three World Cups, scattering defenders during his charges towards the tryline in Japan, would find it difficult to dispute Rennie's claims.

There is a catch.

NZ Rugby doesn't allow anyone who is based overseas to represent the All Blacks.

When Robertson tried his luck on this issue, and noted the Springboks had benefited from picking players who weren't affiliated with clubs from the Republic, NZ Rugby knocked him back.

Rennie, known for his street smarts, might just be keeping NZ Rugby on its toes.

Would NZ Rugby create a Retallick Clause to allow him to join a 40-plus squad for the six-week tour of South Africa later this year?

Anything is possible.

NZ Rugby has already proved it's not afraid to be brave when things get crunchy. It has got a taste for it.

With young tyro lock Fabian Holland in doubt for the South African tour because of a serious shoulder injury, Retallick could be the big winner.

He might get another bite of the All Blacks' cherry.