On Sports Fix with D'Arcy Waldegrave for 24th March 2026, today the rest of Dave Rennie's All Blacks coaching group was revealed. Neil Barnes was named the senior assistant coach, Fa'alogo Tana Umaga as the defence coach, Mike Blair as the attack coach, Jason Ryan as the forwards coach and Phil Healey as the Head of Performance. Neil Barnes joined D'Arcy to discuss his appointment.
D'Arcy shares his thoughts on the T20 series between the Black Caps and White Ferns against South Africa.
And D'Arcy and Newstalk ZB rugby commentator Elliott Smith discuss the new All Blacks coaching appointments.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks EDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
This is Sportsfix Howard By News Talks EDB.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Welcome on in the Sports Fix podcast. It is Tuesday,
twenty fourth of March twenty twenty six on Darcy water
Grave and coming up I've been next fifteen to twenty
odd minutes we're going to deliver to you all you
need to know about the day in sport here in
New Zealand. Our feature today is Neil Barnes. He's just
been anointed as one of a crew of assistant coaches
(00:43):
for the All Blacks under Dave Rennie. We'll have a
yarn to him. Hard man, good rooster, looking forward to
it and still with a rugby theme. Will be joined
in the chamber by our voice of rugby here at
News Talk ZEDB, Journalist, commentator podcast the list goes on.
His name is Elliot Smith and he'll join us to
talk about the appointments under Dave Rennie of the All
(01:05):
Black assistant coaches. That's what we're going to do to GJ.
Gardner Holmes and Zealand's most trusted the home builders for
the long term support of the fixed right Let's Go.
In news and in the Machinations of Sports Today, All
Black coach and leading man Dave Rennie has released the
names of his supporting cast for the upcoming blockbuster the
(01:27):
All Black season. He's named Neil Barnes as the senior
assistant coach, Jason Ryan as the ford's coach, Mike Blair
as the attack coach, Phil Healey as the head of
performance and Foo along with Tana Umager as the defense coach.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
I'm looking after the defense side of the game and
I think that just takes an awful you know, every
time that we're all outperform, and I do need to
make sure that we're getting into a bit of detail
around that.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Outgoing New Zealand Cricket Players Association boss Heath Mills It
says New Zealand is a safety twenty alternative to other
series running at a similar time. New Zealand may be little,
but potential franchise owners should fight for the game.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
For Caribbean very successfully. Biggest cricket event in the Western
The East now much more economy than New Zealand's worst
time zone for India in the in terms of broadcast
SA twenty has been hugely successful. I just wanted to
be aspirational about it.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Willie poa Ching is keeping his powder dry in the
face of overwhelming positivity and the resurgence of the It's
our Year brigade. The former Kiwi and Warrior second rower
turned commentator urgers come.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
The Warriors were flying last year and they lost.
Speaker 6 (02:40):
They started half back and they started from ra okay
and the demise of their season started.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
The slide started there. So I'm not going to get.
Speaker 5 (02:48):
Too carried away right now.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Three voices for you in Sport Today.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
News and a Bedian.
Speaker 7 (02:55):
It's SPORTSFX with Ducie Waldegrave.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
And it's a warm up. Welcome to the Sports Fixed
podcast to Neil Barnes, one of New Zealand's most experienced
coaches over thirty years of working across club, provincial, Super
rug and international levels. He's just been announced as the
senior assistant coach of the All Blacks under Dave Rennie.
Speaker 5 (03:16):
He's with us.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Now, get a Neil.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
How you doing Darcy?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Very well? Maybe not quite as good as you. I
think we all suspected that was going to happen. In fact,
my communication to you last week would suggest that, but
now it's over the line. Congratulations on this role your
first approach. What was it with Dave Rennie? When did
he actually tap me on the shoulder and what did
he say?
Speaker 6 (03:39):
I mentioned it a couple of times today in interviews
when the changeover happened. I actually messaged him, reaching out
to him that I'd love him to come home and
lead rugby in this country because we actually needed them.
I've got so much respect for him as a coach
who was my care for the game here really with
no intention of being involved, but as verse words back
of you available and I said, mate, it's not going
(04:00):
to help you get the job, where she laughed at
but yeah. And then it wasn't really for a couple
of weeks that he gave me a proper phone call
and discussed it. And it was like holy because this
is serious, so look on it and humbled by the
whole thing, but also not just I'm an under no
illusion the responsibility I've got now. So yeah, looking forward
(04:21):
to get on the tools and get the job done.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
What are the tools? What is your actual role? It
sees senior assistant coach and it's clear delineation between who
does what and wear. But what does senior assistant coach
actually and tail what do you need to.
Speaker 6 (04:35):
Bring well, first and foremost, Jason and I will be
responsible for the Fords, and we've already.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
Met for a couple of days.
Speaker 6 (04:41):
Well that looks like and I'm really excited about that
because he's a coach that have got a massive amount
of respect for the detail he brings to the game.
So he'll focus on the scrum and more defense, and
I'll be doing the line out in mine out more attack.
But I guess at the other side of that, as
a senior assistant, you've got a job to support the
head coach and all the other coaches in their fields.
(05:04):
I'm really strong on making sure I've got a strong
understanding of what each coach is so when you're doing
your one on ones with players, you can actually improve
their whole whole game, not just talk about the areas
that you work in.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
So the import of you being a conduit between all
of the players and the coaches and Dave Rennie, that's
right up there, isn't it.
Speaker 6 (05:22):
Well, to be honest, mate, I just do that all
my life. So even when I was coaching in the
last three four years in the NAK. I encourage Jared
and Brad that I work with to challenge me, and
I challenge them to make sure we're doing the right
thing for our team. So every week we're trying to
grow ourselves to be better, not just being comfortable in
(05:44):
what we're actually doing. So I don't see that being
a lot different with David Rennie. He's a person that
will challenge and he'll expect you to have answers about
why are you doing what you're doing.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
And from what I know of you, Neil Barnes, I
expect you do exactly the same back and that's something
that David would absolutely treasure because he's a tough rooster.
He doesn't want yes man, does he.
Speaker 6 (06:05):
Well, I don't think you get any growth in any
business with the whole word b yes.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
People.
Speaker 6 (06:10):
We've got a lot of respect, I guess for each
other and a great relationship where we can make the
other person uncomfortable without it being personal.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
At the end of the day, we're there to get
the best out of each other.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
There's been taught that they like you, Neil because you've
got a touch of the old school about you. Is
that a fair description of the way you coach and
the way you deal with humans.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
I don't know about old school. I guess that's one
way Pe put it.
Speaker 6 (06:36):
But I am honest like as a player, I always
like to know where I stood, and I deal with
players exactly the same way. So I actually care for
my men and the people I work for and with,
and so if you have that depth of care, you
need to be honest with the people if there's things
that aren't right, and also you need to compliment the
things that are right.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
So I don't see that as a complicated process.
Speaker 6 (06:59):
So sugar coating things all the time doesn't always get
the right results.
Speaker 5 (07:03):
In my mind? Where are you weak? Neil oh? Mate?
At the end of the day, my memory isn't what
it was.
Speaker 6 (07:09):
I'm not a young man anymore, but my brain still
works pretty damn good. And I've got an enormous amount
of experience in the game now, which has made me
a lot more what's We're stronger, I suppose, and a
bit more depth to my game than what I was
when I was younger.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Your relationship with Jason Ryan, with tana Umanga, with Mike Blared,
you have one with Phil Haley. How does that play
out well?
Speaker 5 (07:31):
Jason and I have got a mutual respect for each other.
Speaker 6 (07:34):
We've worked against each other for years and super and
he's got an amazing depth of knowledge in the game
and great detail. And so we've spent two days during
the fat together and walked out of it both of
us really motivated about what we can achieve together as
a fellow. I worked with him at the Chiefs your
unreal at his job, TNA Like, I've just got a
(07:54):
massive matter of.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
Respect for as a person.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
He's got some depth about him of his you know,
he's got a motion in him and how he leads
mana pacifica because he's real mate. And as for Mike mate,
I haven't come to know him, but you've got to
respect a person. Most capped Scottish halfback. He's got Rens's
(08:17):
respect as a coach, so you don't get that without
actually being good at what you do. So really really
looking forward to connecting with him and learning about how
he sees things.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Neil Barnes and joins us senior assistant coach. What about selectors?
Do you get to be a selector? What's that space
looking like?
Speaker 6 (08:35):
Again, That's not something Rens and I've actually spoken in
depth about at the moment. But I've been in other
environments with rens where everyone has an input and would
all work, And so you need to be collecting footage
of why you think someone's good and between the whole
lot of us will get consensus about who's in our team.
But yeah, there's a strength that comes from having a
(08:57):
group of people looking at things from different angles and
then sharing what's important to.
Speaker 7 (09:02):
Us, dissecting the sporting agenda.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
It's Sportsfax with Darcy Waldgrave as it expects.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
I've heard a lot of complaints around the nature of
the T twenty series between South Africa and the black Caps,
South Africa and the White Ferns too. Mostly people are
critical of the black Caps because it very much is
a B team, and I'm sure they wouldn't be insulted
by that concept. All of the best players are having
arrest arming themselves for the upcoming ipl where they make
(09:33):
a majority of their money, entirely understandable as opposed to
complain about that. I've watched these games. Look, someone might
call me a cricket tragic probably right, but I've watched
these games for a very sound reason. There is always
a changing of the guard. There are always new players
coming through the grass roots sprouting trying to unseat that
(09:56):
mid level and the superstars of our game, and the
nature of crickets suggests the turnover is high enough and
there will be opportunity for these young guys coming through
or maybe not so young, but an experience anyway. I've
always talked about dealing with loss and that's the most
important part about being an athlete. These guys have dealt
with a couple of losses. It hasn't been pleasant. You
(10:18):
could say it's been a little on the embarrassing side.
But the information they get out of this, the feeling
they get out of defeat, and you talk to all blacks,
they all remember their defeats, not their victories, is going
to put them in a great space for when they
do start playing. For the first eleven we're seeing some
wonderful young players cut any Clark with maybe the catch
(10:40):
of the year, and if you take it at face value,
it's a way of New Zealand Cricket securing the future
of their team by building that next level, which is
so incredibly important when it comes to the future of
our game. So you can say it's b team playing
B team, or we can enjoy it for what it is,
a very necessary part of the growth of New Zealand cricket.
Speaker 7 (11:04):
The Chamber is now in session on sportsfex to warm
were welcome into the Chamber to out Rugby editor and
commentator mister Elliott Smith with good reason because finally we've
got the names of the assistant coaches that have been.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Asked for, let's face it, by the new coach, Dave Rennie.
Welcome on into the Chamber. Your initial response to the
naming of these characters.
Speaker 8 (11:27):
Well, I think these are the probably best candidates that
they could have hoped for in terms of a few things,
contracts being at an end, or play being able to
get people out of contracts, and obviously that the dream team.
Initially there was a lot of talk around could get
Tony Brown into the All Blacks? Maxwell knows contractor until
twenty twenty seven and you just can't get him out
(11:47):
of a deal like that. But in terms of who
he's assembled, I think it's hard to quibble with the
names that he's got there. And I think you look
at the last lot and you go, yeah, they've surrounded
himself with people that he knows and trust.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
And that didn't work.
Speaker 8 (12:02):
It didn't work. So again, I think it's it's hard
to know until it's actually an action whether they are
going to work together. But I think on the surface
of it, you have to go, yeah, a pretty good
group that he's been able to put together, you know.
And I think what I like about the setup here,
Darcy is that the roles are clearly defined. And I
think that was the issue in the last setup is
(12:23):
that they weren't clearly defined enough, and that came about
through some changes obviously as well. But we had the
scenario where it was sort of a game plan coach
and there was transition coaches, and there was all sorts
of various roles and it wasn't clear whose responsibility was what.
But it's been very clearly spelled out in the media
release that Neil Barnes is the senior assistant coach who
(12:45):
will look after a bit of the lineouts as well,
that Tana among is the defense coach, Mike Blair is
the attack coach, Jason Ryan will look after the Fords
with a particular focus on scrumb and more. To me,
that is clear and simple, and so I think that's
a good start. In that regard, I.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Think it's the same with any job you're in. If
you have a clear and defined role, you're more than
likely to make a success in it because you know
what your parameters, your boundaries are. And as a head coach,
with Dave Rennie being the boss, which is planned obvious,
and any dealings I've ever had with him for years,
he's playing near the boss, he'll say, hey, I've seen this,
let's talk about that.
Speaker 8 (13:18):
Absolutely, And I think that's and you don't want to
compare too much to the previous environment, but it is
natural when you have two setups together. And I think
that's where it got to with the last environment that
it wasn't clear who was responsible for what and how
much Scott Robertson was taking on as head coach, how
much Scott Hansom was taking on as the direct assistant
beneath him, who looked after attack and defense, who looked
(13:39):
after all these sort of facets of the game plan.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
The key parts of the actual game itself.
Speaker 8 (13:44):
Yeah, So either you can't deny there. If there's issues
at with the Fords, then you know, Neil Barnes. If
it's at the lineup. Neil Barnes is in the gun.
If it's with the scrum, then Jason Ryan's in the gun.
And I think there's a clearly defined factor there, facet
there that you are going to know who's responsible for
each area of the of the game.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Okay, so I'll open it up then as the senior
assistant coach involved in RUI lineups, but essentially what doesn't
seen assistant coach, what's their roles?
Speaker 8 (14:12):
Well, I think he'll be key in implementing the game
plan that daver Rennie wants and dav And He's going
to you know, he's like card of like the CEO.
He's going to oversee various facets of the game. And
that is also extends to off the field responsibilities, you know,
talking with the team management as well as things, whereas
Neil Barnes will be constructing the game plan and making
(14:32):
sure it's implemented from what Davernie's vision is. And there
are so many things that go into being an All
Blacks head coach these days, media responsibilities, sponsorship responsibilities, and
obviously Daverenie's going to be doing majority of the coaching,
but he will feed that through down Neil Barns. He'll
be his first port of called the two IC and
you think back to the previous All Blacks regimes, there's
been a clearly defined assistant. You know, Steve Hansen had
(14:55):
Ian Foster is as two IC and then Ian Foster
took it on and moved through the assistant coaches there.
This is what I like. It's clearly defined. We know
who's in charge of what, and Neil Barnes will be basically,
you know, the two ICEE, the of Dave Rennie making
sure that all the boxes attacked.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Well, Rennie can't cover everything, as you said, he's got
so many jobs and roles, but he needs to be
across primarily the playing of the game. So to have
a right hand man like that or an assistant there
to implement what he's saying and to feedback the information
to him, They've got to have that clear wave.
Speaker 8 (15:32):
Community relationship, isn't it. And you know, sometimes it might
be a good cop bad cop. We saw that with
Ian Foster and Steve Hanson, that you Hanson would sometimes
play the bad cop, Foster would play the good cop,
and that would be in team environments as well. So
I don't think there's any doubt as to who's in
charge of that coaching setup. It doesn't feel like you
know you're going to have four people there jostling and
(15:53):
thinking that they're the man alongside Dave Rennie. It's clearly
delineated that it's it's Rennie's first and foremost, then it's
Barnes and then you below him in regards to that.
So yeah, I think we approached this from a coaching
set up and go who the assist and how does
it play out? But I think it's important that the
roles are clearly defined in the flow, that you know,
(16:13):
the workflow to use an office term, is clearly to find.
I think it is there.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
So Barnes, Ryan, Umanga, Blair, they're the setup and what
I like about this as well as Phil Heally the
head of performance, which is the new Nick Gill basically,
isn't it So he'll be in charge of fitness and
health and keeping your body together. The relationship between Dave
Rennie and a couple of those assistants is very strong
(16:40):
and it's been going on a long time now. Didn't
quite work out for Razor, but you get a feeling
that he knows what he's going to get out of
these guys because they've followed them all over the world.
Speaker 8 (16:51):
Well, and that's the thing about but I also kind
of like that he hasn't worked with Neil Barnes for
a few years and they've gone on their separate paths,
and Barnes has gone and helped out with Italy as
an assistant coach under Kieran Crowley. There he's been coaching
Tartanaki to various rently shield streets and Bunnings and sea
titles the last couple of seasons as well. They've gone
their separate paths, but they've come back together, so they
(17:14):
would have learned things as they've moved around the globe
and you know, been in different rugby cultures, and then
they can come back and work together. So I do
like the fact that they have spent some time apart,
they haven't been seeing the game through the same prism,
but clearly they know that they can work together and
have a good coaching relationship together. Mike Blair is the
big unknown. I think Darcy from a New Zealand perspective
(17:35):
is that you know, we're got a commandings.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
It are for actually saying you know what you looked
at handsome. We wanted him contract would to work, but
it didn't. You want your man and saying it's okay
to have a foreign born dude in the team a
reasonable step, isn't it? It is?
Speaker 8 (17:50):
And you know Stephen Larkin's name was bandied about a
month ago around be potentially being in the mix. You
know that that peted out didn't come to anything. But
I think it's important to have a not necessarily a
dissenting view, but an outside of you to go, well,
how have we tried this? This is the way we
did it in the Scottish set up, and you know
Mike Blear and it will be insulated it here in
(18:10):
New Zealand might be. We'll probably ring a few bells
for New Zealand rugby fans. He's the most cap Scottish
half back in history. But again, if you walk down
the street, you know most people in New Zealand you
might not know who he is. That won't last a
very long but he's going to come in a little
bit of the unknown and you're here we expected to
prove himself. But what I do like is that Dave
Rennie has been trusted to go, yep, bring this guy
(18:32):
with you, because you clearly know that He's the kind
of attacking voice you need in this setup.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Next step for the management I e. Dave Rennie and
his assistance is naming the captain, isn't it? Is that
the next logical step? And how long do you think
that will talk?
Speaker 4 (18:48):
Well?
Speaker 2 (18:48):
I do?
Speaker 8 (18:48):
It depends whether they name it when they announced their
first squads in presumably late June, or whether they decided
to get it out of the way, you know, a
bit earlier than that. You know, Dave Rennie obviously is
in the country. He's working with Artie Savier very closely
at Kobe. But Scott Barrett said today to media and
christ Church that he hasn't had discussions with Dave Rennie
around the captain anything like that. So it may be
(19:09):
a decision that they leave until Rennie gets his feet
on the ground back in New Zealand in June, and
then they can make some decisions then as he begins
to get a little bit closer to it to game time.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
I don't think it'll be a surprise when the squad's announced.
I don't like that. No surprises, please. But everything that
worked on, they've got some kind of progression and it's calm.
It's not like Cadda. It's not like a gotcha moment or.
Speaker 8 (19:34):
Well think back to twenty twenty four and again didn't
work out in the long run. But Scott Barrett was
named in the first All Black squad of the year,
was named under Scott Robertson as the coach as sorry
as the captain, so there is a precedent for it.
Me and Foster in twenty twenty named Sam Cane very early,
but that was during COVID and we had nothing else
to do. So I may as we name it an
All Blacks captain. So I'll be interesting to see what
(19:55):
Dave Rennie's approach is there. The other question that I've
got is who selects the squad and who selects the
game day twenty three. That's the question that hasn't been
answered there. Is it just Dave Rennie and Neil Barnes,
Is it extended out to the have an external voice
that is going to look through They haven't had one
and the All Black setup since Grant Fox left a
couple of years ago. Do they maybe look to bring
(20:15):
someone And that's an a non question that I've got
today is who's actually selecting the squad for July and
the match day squads.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
And as we expect when it comes to all blacks,
we've run out of the time in the chamber to
talk about anything else. But that's okay. Thank you very much,
Elliott Smith, broadcast a journalists and our voice of rugby
here at News Talk z B. You look after yourself,
you too, Darcy Needing a VEX.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
We've got just the ticket.
Speaker 7 (20:39):
It's Sports Fix powered by News Talks.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
IVY and that set for today's edition of the Sports
Fix podcast. It has been a Tuesday, the twenty fourth
of March twenty twenty six. Thanks GJ. Gardener Holmes and
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(21:03):
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(21:23):
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Speaker 1 (21:34):
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Speaker 2 (00:20):
Welcome on in the Sports Fix podcast. It is Tuesday,
twenty fourth of March twenty twenty six on Darcy water
Grave and coming up I've been next fifteen to twenty
odd minutes we're going to deliver to you all you
need to know about the day in sport here in
New Zealand. Our feature today is Neil Barnes. He's just
been anointed as one of a crew of assistant coaches
(00:43):
for the All Blacks under Dave Rennie. We'll have a
yarn to him. Hard man, good rooster, looking forward to
it and still with a rugby theme. Will be joined
in the chamber by our voice of rugby here at
News Talk ZEDB, Journalist, commentator podcast the list goes on.
His name is Elliot Smith and he'll join us to
talk about the appointments under Dave Rennie of the All
(01:05):
Black assistant coaches. That's what we're going to do to GJ.
Gardner Holmes and Zealand's most trusted the home builders for
the long term support of the fixed right Let's Go.
In news and in the Machinations of Sports Today, All
Black coach and leading man Dave Rennie has released the
names of his supporting cast for the upcoming blockbuster the
(01:27):
All Black season. He's named Neil Barnes as the senior
assistant coach, Jason Ryan as the ford's coach, Mike Blair
as the attack coach, Phil Healey as the head of
performance and Foo along with Tana Umager as the defense coach.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
I'm looking after the defense side of the game and
I think that just takes an awful you know, every
time that we're all outperform, and I do need to
make sure that we're getting into a bit of detail
around that.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Outgoing New Zealand Cricket Players Association boss Heath Mills It
says New Zealand is a safety twenty alternative to other
series running at a similar time. New Zealand may be little,
but potential franchise owners should fight for the game.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
For Caribbean very successfully. Biggest cricket event in the Western
The East now much more economy than New Zealand's worst
time zone for India in the in terms of broadcast
SA twenty has been hugely successful. I just wanted to
be aspirational about it.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Willie poa Ching is keeping his powder dry in the
face of overwhelming positivity and the resurgence of the It's
our Year brigade. The former Kiwi and Warrior second rower
turned commentator urgers come.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
The Warriors were flying last year and they lost.
Speaker 6 (02:40):
They started half back and they started from ra okay
and the demise of their season started.
Speaker 4 (02:45):
The slide started there. So I'm not going to get.
Speaker 5 (02:48):
Too carried away right now.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Three voices for you in Sport Today.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
News and a Bedian.
Speaker 7 (02:55):
It's SPORTSFX with Ducie Waldegrave.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
And it's a warm up. Welcome to the Sports Fixed
podcast to Neil Barnes, one of New Zealand's most experienced
coaches over thirty years of working across club, provincial, Super
rug and international levels. He's just been announced as the
senior assistant coach of the All Blacks under Dave Rennie.
Speaker 5 (03:16):
He's with us.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Now, get a Neil.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
How you doing Darcy?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Very well? Maybe not quite as good as you. I
think we all suspected that was going to happen. In fact,
my communication to you last week would suggest that, but
now it's over the line. Congratulations on this role your
first approach. What was it with Dave Rennie? When did
he actually tap me on the shoulder and what did
he say?
Speaker 6 (03:39):
I mentioned it a couple of times today in interviews
when the changeover happened. I actually messaged him, reaching out
to him that I'd love him to come home and
lead rugby in this country because we actually needed them.
I've got so much respect for him as a coach
who was my care for the game here really with
no intention of being involved, but as verse words back
of you available and I said, mate, it's not going
(04:00):
to help you get the job, where she laughed at
but yeah. And then it wasn't really for a couple
of weeks that he gave me a proper phone call
and discussed it. And it was like holy because this
is serious, so look on it and humbled by the
whole thing, but also not just I'm an under no
illusion the responsibility I've got now. So yeah, looking forward
(04:21):
to get on the tools and get the job done.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
What are the tools? What is your actual role? It
sees senior assistant coach and it's clear delineation between who
does what and wear. But what does senior assistant coach
actually and tail what do you need to.
Speaker 6 (04:35):
Bring well, first and foremost, Jason and I will be
responsible for the Fords, and we've already.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
Met for a couple of days.
Speaker 6 (04:41):
Well that looks like and I'm really excited about that
because he's a coach that have got a massive amount
of respect for the detail he brings to the game.
So he'll focus on the scrum and more defense, and
I'll be doing the line out in mine out more attack.
But I guess at the other side of that, as
a senior assistant, you've got a job to support the
head coach and all the other coaches in their fields.
(05:04):
I'm really strong on making sure I've got a strong
understanding of what each coach is so when you're doing
your one on ones with players, you can actually improve
their whole whole game, not just talk about the areas
that you work in.
Speaker 2 (05:15):
So the import of you being a conduit between all
of the players and the coaches and Dave Rennie, that's
right up there, isn't it.
Speaker 6 (05:22):
Well, to be honest, mate, I just do that all
my life. So even when I was coaching in the
last three four years in the NAK. I encourage Jared
and Brad that I work with to challenge me, and
I challenge them to make sure we're doing the right
thing for our team. So every week we're trying to
grow ourselves to be better, not just being comfortable in
(05:44):
what we're actually doing. So I don't see that being
a lot different with David Rennie. He's a person that
will challenge and he'll expect you to have answers about
why are you doing what you're doing.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
And from what I know of you, Neil Barnes, I
expect you do exactly the same back and that's something
that David would absolutely treasure because he's a tough rooster.
He doesn't want yes man, does he.
Speaker 6 (06:05):
Well, I don't think you get any growth in any
business with the whole word b yes.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
People.
Speaker 6 (06:10):
We've got a lot of respect, I guess for each
other and a great relationship where we can make the
other person uncomfortable without it being personal.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
At the end of the day, we're there to get
the best out of each other.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
There's been taught that they like you, Neil because you've
got a touch of the old school about you. Is
that a fair description of the way you coach and
the way you deal with humans.
Speaker 5 (06:33):
I don't know about old school. I guess that's one
way Pe put it.
Speaker 6 (06:36):
But I am honest like as a player, I always
like to know where I stood, and I deal with
players exactly the same way. So I actually care for
my men and the people I work for and with,
and so if you have that depth of care, you
need to be honest with the people if there's things
that aren't right, and also you need to compliment the
things that are right.
Speaker 5 (06:57):
So I don't see that as a complicated process.
Speaker 6 (06:59):
So sugar coating things all the time doesn't always get
the right results.
Speaker 5 (07:03):
In my mind? Where are you weak? Neil oh? Mate?
At the end of the day, my memory isn't what
it was.
Speaker 6 (07:09):
I'm not a young man anymore, but my brain still
works pretty damn good. And I've got an enormous amount
of experience in the game now, which has made me
a lot more what's We're stronger, I suppose, and a
bit more depth to my game than what I was
when I was younger.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Your relationship with Jason Ryan, with tana Umanga, with Mike Blared,
you have one with Phil Haley. How does that play
out well?
Speaker 5 (07:31):
Jason and I have got a mutual respect for each other.
Speaker 6 (07:34):
We've worked against each other for years and super and
he's got an amazing depth of knowledge in the game
and great detail. And so we've spent two days during
the fat together and walked out of it both of
us really motivated about what we can achieve together as
a fellow. I worked with him at the Chiefs your
unreal at his job, TNA Like, I've just got a
(07:54):
massive matter of.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
Respect for as a person.
Speaker 6 (07:56):
He's got some depth about him of his you know,
he's got a motion in him and how he leads
mana pacifica because he's real mate. And as for Mike mate,
I haven't come to know him, but you've got to
respect a person. Most capped Scottish halfback. He's got Rens's
(08:17):
respect as a coach, so you don't get that without
actually being good at what you do. So really really
looking forward to connecting with him and learning about how
he sees things.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Neil Barnes and joins us senior assistant coach. What about selectors?
Do you get to be a selector? What's that space
looking like?
Speaker 6 (08:35):
Again, That's not something Rens and I've actually spoken in
depth about at the moment. But I've been in other
environments with rens where everyone has an input and would
all work, And so you need to be collecting footage
of why you think someone's good and between the whole
lot of us will get consensus about who's in our team.
But yeah, there's a strength that comes from having a
(08:57):
group of people looking at things from different angles and
then sharing what's important to.
Speaker 7 (09:02):
Us, dissecting the sporting agenda.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
It's Sportsfax with Darcy Waldgrave as it expects.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
I've heard a lot of complaints around the nature of
the T twenty series between South Africa and the black Caps,
South Africa and the White Ferns too. Mostly people are
critical of the black Caps because it very much is
a B team, and I'm sure they wouldn't be insulted
by that concept. All of the best players are having
arrest arming themselves for the upcoming ipl where they make
(09:33):
a majority of their money, entirely understandable as opposed to
complain about that. I've watched these games. Look, someone might
call me a cricket tragic probably right, but I've watched
these games for a very sound reason. There is always
a changing of the guard. There are always new players
coming through the grass roots sprouting trying to unseat that
(09:56):
mid level and the superstars of our game, and the
nature of crickets suggests the turnover is high enough and
there will be opportunity for these young guys coming through
or maybe not so young, but an experience anyway. I've
always talked about dealing with loss and that's the most
important part about being an athlete. These guys have dealt
with a couple of losses. It hasn't been pleasant. You
(10:18):
could say it's been a little on the embarrassing side.
But the information they get out of this, the feeling
they get out of defeat, and you talk to all blacks,
they all remember their defeats, not their victories, is going
to put them in a great space for when they
do start playing. For the first eleven we're seeing some
wonderful young players cut any Clark with maybe the catch
(10:40):
of the year, and if you take it at face value,
it's a way of New Zealand Cricket securing the future
of their team by building that next level, which is
so incredibly important when it comes to the future of
our game. So you can say it's b team playing
B team, or we can enjoy it for what it is,
a very necessary part of the growth of New Zealand cricket.
Speaker 7 (11:04):
The Chamber is now in session on sportsfex to warm
were welcome into the Chamber to out Rugby editor and
commentator mister Elliott Smith with good reason because finally we've
got the names of the assistant coaches that have been.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Asked for, let's face it, by the new coach, Dave Rennie.
Welcome on into the Chamber. Your initial response to the
naming of these characters.
Speaker 8 (11:27):
Well, I think these are the probably best candidates that
they could have hoped for in terms of a few things,
contracts being at an end, or play being able to
get people out of contracts, and obviously that the dream team.
Initially there was a lot of talk around could get
Tony Brown into the All Blacks? Maxwell knows contractor until
twenty twenty seven and you just can't get him out
(11:47):
of a deal like that. But in terms of who
he's assembled, I think it's hard to quibble with the
names that he's got there. And I think you look
at the last lot and you go, yeah, they've surrounded
himself with people that he knows and trust.
Speaker 2 (12:01):
And that didn't work.
Speaker 8 (12:02):
It didn't work. So again, I think it's it's hard
to know until it's actually an action whether they are
going to work together. But I think on the surface
of it, you have to go, yeah, a pretty good
group that he's been able to put together, you know.
And I think what I like about the setup here,
Darcy is that the roles are clearly defined. And I
think that was the issue in the last setup is
(12:23):
that they weren't clearly defined enough, and that came about
through some changes obviously as well. But we had the
scenario where it was sort of a game plan coach
and there was transition coaches, and there was all sorts
of various roles and it wasn't clear whose responsibility was what.
But it's been very clearly spelled out in the media
release that Neil Barnes is the senior assistant coach who
(12:45):
will look after a bit of the lineouts as well,
that Tana among is the defense coach, Mike Blair is
the attack coach, Jason Ryan will look after the Fords
with a particular focus on scrumb and more. To me,
that is clear and simple, and so I think that's
a good start. In that regard, I.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
Think it's the same with any job you're in. If
you have a clear and defined role, you're more than
likely to make a success in it because you know
what your parameters, your boundaries are. And as a head coach,
with Dave Rennie being the boss, which is planned obvious,
and any dealings I've ever had with him for years,
he's playing near the boss, he'll say, hey, I've seen this,
let's talk about that.
Speaker 8 (13:18):
Absolutely, And I think that's and you don't want to
compare too much to the previous environment, but it is
natural when you have two setups together. And I think
that's where it got to with the last environment that
it wasn't clear who was responsible for what and how
much Scott Robertson was taking on as head coach, how
much Scott Hansom was taking on as the direct assistant
beneath him, who looked after attack and defense, who looked
(13:39):
after all these sort of facets of the game plan.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
The key parts of the actual game itself.
Speaker 8 (13:44):
Yeah, So either you can't deny there. If there's issues
at with the Fords, then you know, Neil Barnes. If
it's at the lineup. Neil Barnes is in the gun.
If it's with the scrum, then Jason Ryan's in the gun.
And I think there's a clearly defined factor there, facet
there that you are going to know who's responsible for
each area of the of the game.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Okay, so I'll open it up then as the senior
assistant coach involved in RUI lineups, but essentially what doesn't
seen assistant coach, what's their roles?
Speaker 8 (14:12):
Well, I think he'll be key in implementing the game
plan that daver Rennie wants and dav And He's going
to you know, he's like card of like the CEO.
He's going to oversee various facets of the game. And
that is also extends to off the field responsibilities, you know,
talking with the team management as well as things, whereas
Neil Barnes will be constructing the game plan and making
(14:32):
sure it's implemented from what Davernie's vision is. And there
are so many things that go into being an All
Blacks head coach these days, media responsibilities, sponsorship responsibilities, and
obviously Daverenie's going to be doing majority of the coaching,
but he will feed that through down Neil Barns. He'll
be his first port of called the two IC and
you think back to the previous All Blacks regimes, there's
been a clearly defined assistant. You know, Steve Hansen had
(14:55):
Ian Foster is as two IC and then Ian Foster
took it on and moved through the assistant coaches there.
This is what I like. It's clearly defined. We know
who's in charge of what, and Neil Barnes will be basically,
you know, the two ICEE, the of Dave Rennie making
sure that all the boxes attacked.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
Well, Rennie can't cover everything, as you said, he's got
so many jobs and roles, but he needs to be
across primarily the playing of the game. So to have
a right hand man like that or an assistant there
to implement what he's saying and to feedback the information
to him, They've got to have that clear wave.
Speaker 8 (15:32):
Community relationship, isn't it. And you know, sometimes it might
be a good cop bad cop. We saw that with
Ian Foster and Steve Hanson, that you Hanson would sometimes
play the bad cop, Foster would play the good cop,
and that would be in team environments as well. So
I don't think there's any doubt as to who's in
charge of that coaching setup. It doesn't feel like you
know you're going to have four people there jostling and
(15:53):
thinking that they're the man alongside Dave Rennie. It's clearly
delineated that it's it's Rennie's first and foremost, then it's
Barnes and then you below him in regards to that.
So yeah, I think we approached this from a coaching
set up and go who the assist and how does
it play out? But I think it's important that the
roles are clearly defined in the flow, that you know,
(16:13):
the workflow to use an office term, is clearly to find.
I think it is there.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
So Barnes, Ryan, Umanga, Blair, they're the setup and what
I like about this as well as Phil Heally the
head of performance, which is the new Nick Gill basically,
isn't it So he'll be in charge of fitness and
health and keeping your body together. The relationship between Dave
Rennie and a couple of those assistants is very strong
(16:40):
and it's been going on a long time now. Didn't
quite work out for Razor, but you get a feeling
that he knows what he's going to get out of
these guys because they've followed them all over the world.
Speaker 8 (16:51):
Well, and that's the thing about but I also kind
of like that he hasn't worked with Neil Barnes for
a few years and they've gone on their separate paths,
and Barnes has gone and helped out with Italy as
an assistant coach under Kieran Crowley. There he's been coaching
Tartanaki to various rently shield streets and Bunnings and sea
titles the last couple of seasons as well. They've gone
their separate paths, but they've come back together, so they
(17:14):
would have learned things as they've moved around the globe
and you know, been in different rugby cultures, and then
they can come back and work together. So I do
like the fact that they have spent some time apart,
they haven't been seeing the game through the same prism,
but clearly they know that they can work together and
have a good coaching relationship together. Mike Blair is the
big unknown. I think Darcy from a New Zealand perspective
(17:35):
is that you know, we're got a commandings.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
It are for actually saying you know what you looked
at handsome. We wanted him contract would to work, but
it didn't. You want your man and saying it's okay
to have a foreign born dude in the team a
reasonable step, isn't it? It is?
Speaker 8 (17:50):
And you know Stephen Larkin's name was bandied about a
month ago around be potentially being in the mix. You
know that that peted out didn't come to anything. But
I think it's important to have a not necessarily a
dissenting view, but an outside of you to go, well,
how have we tried this? This is the way we
did it in the Scottish set up, and you know
Mike Blear and it will be insulated it here in
(18:10):
New Zealand might be. We'll probably ring a few bells
for New Zealand rugby fans. He's the most cap Scottish
half back in history. But again, if you walk down
the street, you know most people in New Zealand you
might not know who he is. That won't last a
very long but he's going to come in a little
bit of the unknown and you're here we expected to
prove himself. But what I do like is that Dave
Rennie has been trusted to go, yep, bring this guy
(18:32):
with you, because you clearly know that He's the kind
of attacking voice you need in this setup.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Next step for the management I e. Dave Rennie and
his assistance is naming the captain, isn't it? Is that
the next logical step? And how long do you think
that will talk?
Speaker 4 (18:48):
Well?
Speaker 2 (18:48):
I do?
Speaker 8 (18:48):
It depends whether they name it when they announced their
first squads in presumably late June, or whether they decided
to get it out of the way, you know, a
bit earlier than that. You know, Dave Rennie obviously is
in the country. He's working with Artie Savier very closely
at Kobe. But Scott Barrett said today to media and
christ Church that he hasn't had discussions with Dave Rennie
around the captain anything like that. So it may be
(19:09):
a decision that they leave until Rennie gets his feet
on the ground back in New Zealand in June, and
then they can make some decisions then as he begins
to get a little bit closer to it to game time.
Speaker 2 (19:19):
I don't think it'll be a surprise when the squad's announced.
I don't like that. No surprises, please. But everything that
worked on, they've got some kind of progression and it's calm.
It's not like Cadda. It's not like a gotcha moment or.
Speaker 8 (19:34):
Well think back to twenty twenty four and again didn't
work out in the long run. But Scott Barrett was
named in the first All Black squad of the year,
was named under Scott Robertson as the coach as sorry
as the captain, so there is a precedent for it.
Me and Foster in twenty twenty named Sam Cane very early,
but that was during COVID and we had nothing else
to do. So I may as we name it an
All Blacks captain. So I'll be interesting to see what
(19:55):
Dave Rennie's approach is there. The other question that I've
got is who selects the squad and who selects the
game day twenty three. That's the question that hasn't been
answered there. Is it just Dave Rennie and Neil Barnes,
Is it extended out to the have an external voice
that is going to look through They haven't had one
and the All Black setup since Grant Fox left a
couple of years ago. Do they maybe look to bring
(20:15):
someone And that's an a non question that I've got
today is who's actually selecting the squad for July and
the match day squads.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
And as we expect when it comes to all blacks,
we've run out of the time in the chamber to
talk about anything else. But that's okay. Thank you very much,
Elliott Smith, broadcast a journalists and our voice of rugby
here at News Talk z B. You look after yourself,
you too, Darcy Needing a VEX.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
We've got just the ticket.
Speaker 7 (20:39):
It's Sports Fix powered by News Talks.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
IVY and that set for today's edition of the Sports
Fix podcast. It has been a Tuesday, the twenty fourth
of March twenty twenty six. Thanks GJ. Gardener Holmes and
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(21:03):
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(21:23):
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Speaker 1 (21:34):
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