“Rassie Has An 8-Year Head Start”: Rennie Admits All Blacks Are Chasing Springboks’ Squad Depth
New Zealand head coach Dave Rennie believes the All Blacks’ current tour of South Africa provides a valuable opportunity to build the squad depth required to challenge the Springboks’ remarkable player pool ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup.
The All Blacks were forced to dig deep during Friday’s clash with the Stormers in Cape Town, with Rennie fielding a side that featured several players who had not accumulated significant minutes during New Zealand’s recent Rugby Championship campaign.
While South Africa has developed an enviable level of depth under Rassie Erasmus, Rennie acknowledged that New Zealand is still in the process of building a similar foundation after only recently taking charge.
“That’s what we’re working on. Rassie has been doing it for eight years, whereas we are only a couple of months into it,” Rennie said.
The New Zealand coach was encouraged by the performances of his less experienced players, particularly given that many of those selected against the Stormers had not played substantial minutes during the recent Test series.
“We’ve brought over a good squad, and not many of the guys who played on Friday had significant minutes in the Test series. That’s pleasing for us,” he said.
“We got some good and tough rugby in. I think they’ll be better for that.”
The Stormers provided a stern examination for the visitors for much of the contest before the All Blacks eventually pulled away late in the match.
For Rennie, however, the value of the tour extends beyond the immediate result, with the opportunity to assess players in challenging conditions forming an important part of New Zealand’s preparations for the 2027 World Cup.
That process will continue almost immediately, with Rennie confirming that the All Blacks will make wholesale changes for their next tour match against the Sharks on Tuesday.
“There will be an enormous number of changes for the side that will play the Sharks on Tuesday,” Rennie revealed to Sportswire.
With the World Cup a year away, Rennie sees the South African tour as an important opportunity to determine which players can form part of New Zealand’s long-term plans.
“Tours like this are great for us to test and build depth,” he added.
“Heading into the World Cup next year, we’ll learn a lot more about the players that we’ve got here and those that we will use beyond this tour.”
While the Springboks remain the benchmark when it comes to squad depth and player succession, Rennie believes New Zealand’s current tour provides an opportunity to close that gap.
The All Blacks’ ability to rotate their squad, expose emerging players to Test-level intensity and identify those capable of stepping up when required could prove crucial when the world’s leading nations converge for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
