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Before Dave Rennie came to Australia as the country’s second foreign Wallabies coach after Robbie Deans, those close to the former Chiefs and the Glasgow boss could testify that attention to detail was a particularly strong point.
Rennie, the 56-year-old Kiwi with Cook Islands heritage who now lives at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast, hates leaving anything to chance. Clarity is king.
The Wallabies’ response to the haka in Bledisloe’s first two games was certainly not something Rennie left to chance.
Anthony Au-Yeung / Getty Images
The Wallabies line up in a boomerang formation as the All Blacks perform their pregame haka.
Some may believe that exercise is frivolous, but for Rennie, given her background, she feels it is of utmost importance.
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“We didn’t want to spend a lot of time with the haka, but I wanted the guys to understand what the haka is all about and find a way to accept it,” Rennie said to the Sydney morning herald. “A lot of the players say they love it and the energy it brings. Perhaps historically, although there have been players who have been intimidated by it.
“Ka Mate is obviously different from Kapa or Pango. What we have tried to do is think of something that is unique to us. About us standing firm and reflecting our DNA, with indigenous peoples being a large part of our history ”.
After discussions among the play team, a symbolic response to the haka was carefully crafted.
Rennie sits in her chair and explains.
“We go out with our boomerang formation because it’s unique to us,” Rennie said. “The boys are not tied and we have broken feet because it is a stronger position. If you were pushed with your feet together, you would fall. When the All Blacks do the haka, their feet will be split. We are standing, instead of being united, arms by our side. We are ready to fight and accept the challenge.
“The idea with the boomerang is that we throw the boomerang, it hovers over them, shredding their words, then it comes back and gives us energy back. It will make more sense with the indigenous shirt ”.
Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images
Rival coaches Dave Rennie and Ian Foster chat before the opening round of the Bledisloe Cup in Wellington.
Rennie says there will be a little twist just before kickoff at 7.45pm Saturday with Australia wearing their First Nations strip, and they’ll need all that energy on their side if they want to make up for a 27-7 loss at Eden Park and keep alive the Bledisloe series.
However, three weeks ago when Rennie entered the Australian training ground in Wellington, he wasn’t sure how he would feel when the New Zealand anthem started.
“I wasn’t excited when the New Zealand national anthem was playing,” Rennie said. “Normally I would stand up and sing it. I didn’t stop. “
Rennie’s predecessor, Michael Cheika, used to encourage his Argentine assistant Mario Ledesma to join in when the Pumas sang their national anthem at games.
Did Rennie consider doing it?
“No.”
Absolutely?
“No.”
As Rennie says, when he commits, Really undertakes. After months of negotiations with Rugby Australia last year and Cheika’s Wallabies officially reigned in flames after the World Cup disaster, the All Blacks knocked on the door.
A source close to the negotiations told the Herald The All Blacks almost told Rennie that if he put his name in the ring, the job was his.
Rennie is a man of high principles who was bought with the vision of then-RA CEO Raelene Castle and rugby director Scott Johnson. His message to New Zealand Rugby: Thank you, but no thank you.
Phil Walter / Getty Images
The All Blacks perform the haka before the first Bledisloe Cup match.
He has yet to win over the Australian rugby crowd, which is still taking on another Kiwi coaching the Wallabies. It’s an auspicious start, to be fair.
“It broke the ground a bit, didn’t it?” Said Rennie from Deans. “It’s probably difficult for an Australian audience to accept a foreigner coming in and coaching their national team. In New Zealand, it’s hard to see it happen from an All Blacks perspective. You look at the rest of our national teams (rugby league, hockey and cricket) and there are a lot of Australian coaches coming in.
Mark Baker / AP
Sam Cane and the All Blacks enjoyed a catch-up performance at Eden Park in Bledisloe II.
“I understand that it will polarize opinion. I imagine there would have been mixed feelings when it was announced. People are generally quite welcoming. In the end, we will be judged on the results.
“Some people may think I’m here for a short time, or maybe I’m not worried about the future of rugby in Australia. It couldn’t be further from the truth. “
Although singing Advance Australia Fair at Sky Stadium it would have had nothing to do with the outcome of the first game, Rennie did not hesitate in the minutes leading up to Australia’s gallant 16-16 draw.
“Standing up and singing the Australian anthem was a proud moment. There were no regrets, ”Rennie said. Wellington is where I started my professional career. It was a bit ironic that he had so many family and friends in the crowd and many of them cheering for Australia.
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Du’Plessis Kirifi on what his call-up to the All Blacks means, after the team arrived in Sydney.
“I have a lot of players that I coached playing for the All Blacks and I still have a strong relationship with them, but there’s no way I don’t want to beat them.”
The songs have become a common theme with Rennie, whose love of a guitar session was quickly sniffed out by Australian reporters.
He wanted the team to come up with their own “Australian anthem”, which they would release after the meetings.
Anthony Au-Yeung / Getty Images
Tom Banks of the Wallabies is crushed in a driveway by Hoskins Sotutu.
It was initially Working class man by Jimmy Barnes, before the group settled on a more recognizable tune.
We are one, but we are many
And from all the lands of the earth we come
We will share a dream and sing with one voice
I am, you are, we are Australians.
“We have a diverse group, and many were not born in this country,” Rennie said. “But they have come here and made a commitment to the land.”
On and off the field, Rennie knows the Wallabies have a long way to go. They have basically been on a three-year plan for five weeks to win the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
It’s no secret that they need to hit their tackles, avoid coughing up the ball, and kick smarter while playing in the correct areas of ANZ Stadium.
The recent record in Sydney is terrible, with three losses to the Kiwis from 2016 to 2018 by an average margin of 26.3 points.
Forget the story. Forget 2019. It’s a clean slate and Rennie knows she has to earn their respect.
She is sure to speak fewer words than Cheika, and many are confident that she could cook a few more W’s alongside her name.
“We know we’re good enough, but we’re going to have to do our best for 80-odd minutes,” Rennie said. “If we get the job done, we’ll be sniffing it out next weekend. There is a lot to play for.
“We want 25 million people to believe in us and be proud of us.”
