Over three years since he was sacked as their coach, Dave Rennie remains a popular figure among Wallabies players, past and present.

That much was obvious when several ex-Wallabies posted congratulations to Rennie after he was this week named as the new All Blacks coach. Private messages flew over, too.

Dave Rennie, left, stands with New Zealand Rugby Chair David Kirk as he is announced as the new All Blacks head coach in Auckland.Credit: AP

Unbeknown to Rennie, two prominent ex-Wallabies even gave letters of reference when asked by the NZR for an honest appraisal.

Needless to say, there remains a great deal of affection in Wallaby-world for the 62-year-old former pub owner from Upper Hutt. The manner of Rennie’s brutal sacking in 2022 never sat well with many of them, and it was only accentuated by the year of chaos that followed.

But all of Rennie’s good bloke points won’t get him a free pass for a very All Black comment made in his opening media conference on Wednesday. It was overlooked by most.

“It’s a sprint from here. By the time we start, we will have about 15 months to a World Cup,” Rennie said. “We are well aware the way the draw works, in typical fashion for a World Cup, we are likely to meet South Africa in a quarter-final. We will get a bit of practice against them this year.”

The Rugby World Cup next year, of course, sees the Wallabies and the All Blacks in the same pool. It’ll be the winner of that pool who likely plays the Springboks in a quarter-final.

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