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'Tougher than the World Cup': Rennie ready for Springboks Test series
Sport Nation • August 18th, 2026 12:01 pm
Dave Rennie | Photo: Photosport
Dave Rennie has described the All Blacks’ upcoming four-Test series against the Springboks as an even greater challenge than a Rugby World Cup knockout run.
New Zealand opens Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour in Johannesburg on Sunday morning (NZ time), with Rennie confident his side has used the first three matches in South Africa to build towards the biggest Test of his tenure.
“A lot tougher than the World Cup,” Rennie said when asked to compare the series to a World Cup knockout campaign.
“But it’s great, isn’t it? Both sides will be about a year out from the World Cup by the time we finish the series. So we’ll certainly learn a lot while we’re here.”
The All Blacks have added Saula Ma’u to their squad after Ollie Norris was ruled out, while Noah Hotham and Richie Mo’unga have also joined the group ahead of the first Test.
Highlanders prop Saula Ma’u | Photo: Photosport
Rennie said Ma’u’s arrival was essential to provide front-row cover and avoid asking the starting props to back up just three days later.
“We’ve got a Test on (Sunday), and ideally, we’d have two fresh front rows to play in that game, which means we’re not asking the Test guys to back up three days later,” Rennie said.
The All Blacks are also managing a growing injury list, with Billy Proctor, George Bell and Caleb Clarke among those to suffer setbacks during the tour.
“It’s sad for those guys, having a tour over so early, but yeah, it’s the nature of the game,” Rennie said.
He said the focus now was on making sure the players still available are physically and mentally ready for an enormous opening Test.
“We’ve got a number of guys who’ve played a lot of footy here in South Africa,” he said.
“We know we’re going to have to be really good. We’re going to have to play at our best and force them to be below their best.”
South Africa’s ability to apply pressure, win territory and convert opportunities is a major concern for the All Blacks.
Rennie said the Springboks lead the world in several key areas, including winning high balls, entering the opposition 22 and scoring once they get there.
“They lead the world in things like winning high balls back, amount of entries into their 22, amount of points per entry in their 22,” he said.
“It all paints a picture around the fact that you’ve got to limit the amount of times they can get in there because they’re the best in the world at converting that pressure and the points.”
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The All Blacks coach expects South Africa to bring a powerful set-piece game and use back-to-back pressure to force mistakes.
“They’ve been good at applying a lot of pressure, back-to-back penalties, put you in a corner, and they’re the best in the world turning that pressure into points down there,” Rennie said.
“Our discipline will be really important, our accuracy will be really important, our set piece will be massive.”
Rennie also played down suggestions the All Blacks were motivated by revenge after their recent defeats to the Springboks.
“We haven’t talked about that at all, so there’s no redemption or payback or any of that sort of talk,” he said.
“We’re just trying to be the best we can be and get up against the quality side, so that’s our focus.”
While the first-Test side will leave out some impressive performers, Rennie said the competition for places had been one of the positives from the tour.
“Look how well Josh and Leroy played on the weekend,” he said.
“If Caleb was here, he’s been fronting well too, so there are a lot of places where we think we’re establishing really good depth and competition for places.”
After weeks of preparation, Rennie says the group is ready for the occasion.
“There’s a real buzz,” he said.
“We’ve been talking about this tour for a long time and so, for the 23 that get to play, it’s going to be a massive occasion.”
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