Attention in New Zealand is now on who All Blacks coach Dave Rennie will appoint as his assistants ahead of the international season.
Rennie was unveiled last Wednesday, returning to New Zealand rugby after more than nine years abroad.
The former Wallabies and Chiefs boss has indicated he would like to bring in his own assistants, but admitted discussions still need to take place with NZ Rugby and the current coaching group.
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Former All Blacks flyhalf Stephen Donald, who has previously worked under Rennie and one of the rumoured candidates, Neil Barnes, believes Barnes could be among the first names on the list.
“Well, I mean, straight away, the first one that comes to mind is the Taranaki farmer Neil Barnes. I would think he’ll be high on the list, obviously, as a forwards coach,” Donald said on The Breakdown.
“Don’t let the exterior fool you. He’s a very intelligent, smart and attacking minded coach, which is the exciting thing, so I’d imagine he’s an obvious one.
“And then I think Andrew Strawbridge is another obvious one, who’s been there right through a lot of Rennie’s career. He’ll be, I would imagine, in the skills department as he’s big on the micro details we have, footwork around catch and pass, so I’d imagine he will be another one of the real key ones.”
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Donald added that a specialist scrum coach could also be required.
“Barnsey I imagine would be forwards, and then there’d be a scrum coach separate of it, and Barnsey would do things like kick-off receives and stuff like that.
“Strawbridge would be very much across everything with the skills, like obviously your extra sessions that would be run by Strawbridge, as far as upskilling and I guess improving the All Blacks in that field.”
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Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
The post Beaver names Rennie’s possible right-hand men appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Attention in New Zealand is now on who All Blacks coach Dave Rennie will appoint as his assistants ahead of the international season.
The post Beaver names Rennie’s possible right-hand men appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
