Unfortunately for the Springboks, it appears that Dave Rennie will continue with his plan to coach Glasgow Warriors after he finishes with the Chiefs, in 2017.
News broke this week that Rennie may be a candidate for the head-coach of the Springboks. Positioned in the line behind All Black coach Steve Hansen, Rennie has widely been touted as one of the best coaches in World Rugby and he has the record to prove it.
Rennie coached the Chiefs franchise to successive Super Rugby titles, and he was victorious in the New Zealand U-20 setup. You’d simply be hard-stretched to find a better coach going round. His CV speaks for itself, and news of him being a candidate for a role with South Africa should have been a surprise.
Dave Rennie Likely to Opt Out of The Springboks
The state of South African rugby is in a bad way right now. Their national team, the Springboks, are fresh off what many are calling ‘their worst season in history’. That is in terms of on-field results and issues within the administration. The Springboks were once a force to be reckoned with, but in 2016 Allister Coetzee‘s side had a lacklustre season. And all the critics are calling for his resignation.
Rennie is the perfect man for the job, because he takes no prisoners and won’t be swayed; you’d think, by petty political goings on that is clearly occurring within South African rugby.
The issue is, though, Rennie has already signed with Glasgow and appears to be set to keep his original word. In fact, he’s always said he wanted to venture overseas and end his coaching career outside of New Zealand. During an interview in 2014, Rennie told Last Word On Rugby as much;
“I want to go overseas, base ourselves somewhere else, and experience different cultures. There is a lot of talk about the All Blacks, but that would be a pretty tough job to get into.
Rennie said “I do have aspirations but I’m not in a hurry. My next job beyond the Chiefs will likely be overseas.” And post the 2017 Super Rugby season, Rennie gets his wish to try his hand at coaching offshore.
Following the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Rennie may well get his shot with the All Blacks, so don’t discount anything just yet. For New Zealand Rugby, Rennie’s immediate loss is huge. However, South African Rugby can take comfort in the knowledge that there are a huge number of contenders from New Zealand still on the table.
Springboks Should Eye a Kiwi Coach
As reported on the Herald, John Plumtree and John Mitchell are both high on the list of possibilities. Ireland coach Joe Schmidt and British & Irish Lions head Warren Gatland are also considerations, but the likelihood of luring those two men in particular is low at best.
One difficulty for the African union is that Coetzee signed a four year contract. He would need to be paid-out for that, as much as offering a high value on any new coach. They are not in a financial position to do so, so any decision would have limitations on the unions resources.
If it is a Kiwi coach that the Springboks need, they may need to consider more names…but imagine, just imagine, if they did manage to get Rennie. How much would that improve South African rugby?
“Main photo credit”
