All Blacks coach Dave Rennie on high alert ahead of Italian test in Wellington
Friday, 10 July 2026
Praise washed in from most corners in the aftermath of the All Blacks’ season opening victory last week.
Some of it was borderline giddy. The majority of it locked in on the team’s attacking intent after they essentially shelved the box-kick en route to a 34-32 victory over France.
It was also perhaps a little premature.
Sure, the All Blacks’ buzzword is ‘optimism’ as they embark on the Dave Rennie era, but one test - under the roof in pristine conditions at One New Zealand Stadium - is not a sufficient sample size to make any conclusions.
As assistant coach Jason Ryan indicated ahead of Saturday evening’s test against Italy, how the All Blacks use the ball in Wellington is likely to differ from how they play when not subjected to the elements.
The only other test the All Blacks are scheduled to play indoor this year is against Wales in Cardiff in November.
Nonetheless, there’s reason to at least believe the All Blacks, who many believed got bogged down by aerial warfare under former coach Scott Robertson, are going to endeavour to play with attacking freedom and intent.
And while test rugby is a different beast, the way the Hurricanes, who contributed 11 All Blacks to the squad for the Nations Championship, made a mockery of foul conditions during the Super Rugby playoffs should also provide some confidence.
“Looks like the weather is slightly better than the final,” Rennie noted, pointing to the Hurricanes’ 60-5 rout of the Chiefs last month.
“But regardless of what it throws at us, we’ve got key people in key positions who can deal with it and be confident to play.”
Rennie’s weather forecast might be an understatement. Significantly better conditions are forecast, with neither rain or strong winds set to hit the capital for the fixture.
So, where does Rennie want to see improvement after his team played some quality rugby, but failed to shut the door on France, and coughed up 32 points?
“I love the mindset last week, huge work ethic, I thought our brutality with the ball was excellent, won a lot of races, created really quick ball. Probably wasn't the same defensively,” Rennie said on Thursday with an eye on Italy.
“So, we want a lot more line speed, a lot more two in the tackle to try and give them slower ball so we can set and get off the line, create opportunities for turnover pill.”
Defence coach Tana Umaga is set to come under scrutiny if the All Blacks don’t make strides defensively.
The All Blacks missed 25 tackles in Christchurch en route to conceding four tries, including one inside two minutes, as France at times made it look all too easy.
And Rennie has put his troops on notice, warning them to expect the Azzurri to offer considerably more than a stout scrum.
“They can play, they have got quality backs, their ability to sweep and get big numbers on one side of the field, they are really innovative, they've got a lot of really good strikes,” he said.
“And then they will come hard defensively, that can create a bit of havoc for us, but it can create opportunity, too, if we are good enough to hold our feet and pick them off.”
Rennie, who was sacked as Wallabies coach a few months after a 28-27 loss to Italy in Florence in 2022, is sure heading into the test with caution.
He could even be accused of following in Razor’s footsteps after there was more than a hint of conservatism with the 23 he picked for a clash against a team coming of a lame defeat to Japan.
However, with former Italy assistant coach Neil Barnes on his coaching team, Rennie pointed out it wasn’t long ago (March) that they recorded a historic victory over England.
“They will be a different creature. Maybe they underestimated Japan, pretty hot conditions over there this time of year, maybe they had an eye towards this game.
“So we won't make the same mistake, we're well aware of their ability…they're not going to sneak into town.”