Jason Ryan the lone survivor as new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie names his team

Tuesday, 24 March 2026

One might be tempted to call Jason Ryan a survivor after new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie retained him.

New Zealand Rugby’s interim chief executive, Steve Lancaster, chose a different description when fronting a press conference to address Rennie’s newly announced coaching team.

“Jase is a special individual,” Lancaster said. “He’s team first, he’s humble, he demands excellence of himself before he demands it of others.

“Secondly, he’s technically a very, very good coach, and clearly others see that as well.”

Confirmed in Rennie’s team alongside three new assistants - Neil Barnes, Faʻalogo Tana Umaga and Scotsman Mike Blair - Ryan is the lone survivor from Scott Robertson’s tenure.

Having also worked under Ian Foster, Ryan will continue with the ‘forwards coach’ title in his third All Blacks coaching team, with an emphasis on scrum and maul.

Barnes, who worked under Rennie at the Chiefs and guided Taranaki to the NPC title in 2023, has been appointed senior assistant.

Former All Blacks captain and current Moana Pasfika head coach Umaga is in charge of the defence, while former Scotland halfback and current Kobe assistant Blair will take the reins of the attack.

With Phil Healey also appointed All Blacks head of performance, Lancaster pointed out all incumbents were considered, and that the appointments were “absolutely led” by Rennie.

“He came into this process really clear on what his vision was for this team, how he wanted to lead it, and the sort of people he wanted alongside him, and we're really happy that we've been able to enable him to get there.”

While gone from the All Blacks, Tamati Ellison has been appointed Māori All Blacks head coach and Bryn Evans will continue to work with the Hurricanes.

Lancaster hoped Scott Hansen, Robertson’s right-hand man, would remain involved with New Zealand rugby.

“I do want to really commend and acknowledge that the departing coaches have put the team first, they've conducted themselves incredibly well over what's been an unsettling period for a number of people,” he said.

“Ultimately, we've given Dave the team that he believes will help him to get the All Blacks to win the World Cup next year.”

That includes the hard-nosed and straight-shooting Barnes, who will focus on the team’s lineout, and whose foreseen inclusion in Rennie’s team had raised questions regarding Ryan’s future.

“I've had a meeting with Jason Ryan and we're unbelievably aligned, he's been a competitor of mine for a number of years, a huge amount of respect for him and that's mutual,” Barnes said.

“And once we got together and saw how aligned we were, yeah, it's going to be pretty powerful, to be honest.”

Lancaster said Rennie, who won’t be back in New Zealand full time until after he’s finished with Kobe in June, had already met with the All Blacks leadership group, as well as the coaches of the five Kiwi Super Rugby franchises.

While he will continue to return to New Zealand during bye weeks, Ryan and Barnes are well placed to rip into their work, which is likely to include visiting Super Rugby sides.

Umaga will finish the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season before vacating his position as Moana Pasifika head coach.

“Not at all,” Lancaster said when asked if he was concerned Rennie, Blair and Umaga had other commitments until May/June ahead of a bumper international campaign, highlighted by a tour of South Africa.

“It's not a bad time of year actually to be assembling this group. The All Black coaches typically don't get a lot of access to players through Super Rugby.”

All Blacks coaching team

Dave Rennie – Head Coach

Neil Barnes – Senior Assistant Coach

Jason Ryan – Forwards Coach

Faʻalogo Tana Umaga – Defence Coach

Mike Blair – Attack Coach

Phil Healey – Head of Performance