NZ’s Rennie mirrors Rassie’s bold blueprint for backroom picks

SPRINGBOK coach Rassie Erasmus can afford a bittersweet smile as he digests the confirmation of his Kiwi counterpart Dave Rennie’s backroom staff, which is headlined by old school All Black Tana Umaga and canny Scot Mike Blair.

- MIKE GREENAWAY

Bittersweet because Erasmus will recognise parallels with his own appointment in 2018 while understanding that Rennie has picked a staff prepared to go to war with him in the Greatest Rivalry series with the Boks in August and September.

Rennie has opted for less is more - he has trimmed down the number of assistants from the Scott Robertson regime - and gone for a tight-knit group of coaches who have a proven track record with him.

His chief assistant will be Neil Barnes, who was Rennie’s right-hand man at the Chiefs when they won Super Rugby titles in 2012 and 2013.

The key appointment is Blair, who has been working with Rennie in Japan at the Kobe Steelers. The pair finish up in Japan in June and within a month will be hosting Nations Cup fixtures against France, Ireland and Italy as the All Blacks “warm up” for the Springboks.