With the All Blacks heading into Ellis Park to face an unbeaten Springbok side, this profile digs into the personality and philosophy that has shaped Dave Rennie's coaching career. Drawing on Ryan Wilson's first-hand account of Rennie's Glasgow Warriors tenure, the piece builds a portrait of a coach who is emphatically not the archetype — a former PE teacher and pub landlord who opened his first Warriors training session by asking players to learn a Fijian hymn, on the basis that anyone willing to belt it out in public won't fear making mistakes on a rugby field. Wilson's testimony is telling: Rennie's 95/5 rule — that 95% of leadership happens off the field — wasn't just rhetoric. Rennie's ability to completely compartmentalise match results, guitar in hand after a loss as freely as after a win, is framed as a genuine competitive advantage in managing player psychology.
The man behind the All Blacks revival: why Dave Rennie is more than just a rugby coach
A profile of Dave Rennie through Ryan Wilson's eyes — his Fijian hymn coaching philosophy, the 95/5 leadership rule, and the off-field culture that has the All Blacks relaxed ahead of a sold-out Ellis Park showdown with the Springboks.
Boks remain top but All Blacks close gap to 2.90 points after Nations Championship opener
South Africa stay top of the World Rugby Men's Rankings at 93.94 points but New Zealand have cut the gap to 2.90 after beating France, while Scotland climb to equal their all-time high of fifth following a record 47-38 win over Argentina in Córdoba.
Hansen's Right to Back Himself — But the Boks' Five-Match Streak Tells a Different Story
Jean de Villiers acknowledges Hansen's logic but argues last year's results and performances make it hard to see the All Blacks closing the gap on the Boks — and the panel get genuinely animated over what a 2-2 series tiebreaker would even look like.
Keo & Zels: Stubborn All Blacks policy make Boks smile
The boys love that New Zealand keep picking their second-best, long may it continue.
All Blacks' loosehead crisis hands Springboks a ready-made weapon in Greatest Rivalry Series
Jeff Wilson has publicly identified loosehead prop as the All Blacks' most dangerous weakness ahead of four consecutive Tests against the Springboks — with Williams likely out, Tu'ungafasi's future uncertain, and the remaining options short on caps and experience. Set against the depth Erasmus has built across the prop positions, this piece maps out why scrum time could be where the Greatest Rivalry Series is decided.
Stephen Donald: Robertson copied the Boks — Rennie must go back to All Blacks DNA
Stephen Donald backs Hansen's anti-copycat argument, saying Robertson erred by chasing the Springbok blueprint rather than New Zealand's tempo-based strengths — and expects Rennie to correct that course ahead of a blockbuster four-Test series in South Africa.