All Blacks: Coach Dave Rennie frustrated by Springboks tour loss
All Blacks coach Dave Rennie is frustrated after his side’s tour of South Africa, but still found positives to take into Rugby World Cup preparations.
Rennie reflected on the All Blacks’ performances with Newstalk ZB’s Jason Pine, highlighting how New Zealand were unable to control key moments throughout the series.
“There’s a lot of positives, it’s a fair bit of frustration too,” Rennie said.
“We played pretty well in that first test, the second one we had our chances and likewise in the third.
“We hit the lead 17-12 and just didn’t control key moments beyond that and probably battled a bit in Baltimore in the end.
“Again, it was tight. We’ve just got to be better in those key moments. And so we’ve learned a lot.
“We put 49 players on tour. I always felt that the tour would be really good for us and we come out of there regardless of the results with a year to go to a World Cup and a really strong place.”
The 62-year-old highlighted how he felt the All Blacks could improve in those game-changing moments.
“A lot of it’s about game sense, tactically understanding how you can squeeze a side and we’re probably playing a slightly different game to some other teams.
“We want to play. Our game revolves around a lot of high tempo, which I think’s exciting to watch.
“South Africa, on the other hand, they squeeze you, they put a lot of ball in the air, they attack you at set piece and the game tends to be a lot slower.
“And so it was a real contrasting of styles. But, I just think we’ve got to be better in those key moments and you’ve got to find a way of winning those.
“And when we stack positive moments, we’re a real handful. And when we didn’t or when they were able to, they’re difficult to contend with.
“Accuracy was important for us. If we felt we got continuity, we could keep the ball moving and fatigue them.
“But if you make an error 60 seconds before you get a scrum down and they’ll try and leapfrog up the field using their set piece.
“So I would say frustration. We probably got back and we’re kicking stones a little bit for a while because we definitely had opportunities, but, you know, we just got to be better.”
Despite the 3-1 series loss to the Springboks, Rennie felt the teams were close in ability.
“You can contest referee decisions all you like, in the end you’ve got to put in performances that make the referee irrelevant.
“And we had chances to do that. So, they’re a very experienced side. They’re really clear on their DNA. We’re still developing that.
“We’d been together nine or 10 weeks at that stage. So, I just think we’ve got a really big upside as players get really comfortable at playing the game we’re trying to play. So that’s exciting.”
Rennie’s next challenge with the All Blacks is the Bledisloe Cup, with tests against Australia at Eden Park on October 10 and a week later in Sydney.