Dave Rennie says New Zealand's first full-scale tour of South Africa in 30 years will be a genuine development opportunity for his evolving squad, speaking at a welcome event at Cape Town Stadium on Friday.
The All Blacks play four tour matches against the major franchises — opening against the Stormers at DHL Stadium next Friday — before four tests against the Springboks. Three tests are scheduled in South Africa from August 22, with the series concluding in Baltimore on September 12.
Rennie, who took charge in March, highlighted the iterative value of facing the same opposition across four tests. "We'll be playing the same team four times, so you review and preview and hopefully learn a few things and hopefully do things better in the next game," he said. He added that the provincial fixtures give fringe squad members genuine game time, something a condensed test window does not always allow.
The 62-year-old was measured about his side's Nations Championship form — which included a win over Ireland — framing it as progress rather than proof of readiness. "We're building, we're a new side. We've got a lot of new staff and we've got a lot of new young players. We're well aware of how tough this challenge is."
Rennie was candid about the Springboks' depth, pointing specifically to the rotated side that beat Scotland convincingly as evidence of the challenge ahead.
Test captain Ardie Savea remains the only absentee from the 44-man touring party, having been rested after a heavy workload. He is expected in camp before the first test in Johannesburg. Hooker Codie Taylor holds the tour captaincy in the interim and expressed surprise at the scale of All Blacks support at the welcome event, where more than 2,000 fans turned out.
The tour is the first of its kind between the two nations since 1996, when the All Blacks became the first New Zealand side to win a series on South African soil. In the 12 series played between the countries across both nations, touring teams have won just once each — South Africa in New Zealand in 1937 and New Zealand in South Africa in 1996.