Springboks Sent Strong Warning Ahead of Facing All Blacks in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tour
- Former Stormers coach Robbie Fleck named All Blacks coach Dave Rennie as the best coach he has ever encountered
- Fleck revealed the key ingredient behind every Rennie-coached side and what the Springboks will need to match this series
- The comments came ahead of Saturday's All Blacks clash against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus and the four-Test Boks series
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Former Stormers head coach Robbie Fleck has named All Blacks coach Dave Rennie as the finest he has ever come up against, warning that physicality will be at the heart of New Zealand's approach in the upcoming four-Test series against the Springboks.
Fleck shared his assessment on the Boks Unpacked X The Verdict podcast alongside former Boks Jean de Villiers and Hanyani Shimange, with the conversation timed to Saturday's All Blacks encounter against the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld and the series opener at Ellis Park the following weekend.
Fleck's firsthand experience of Rennie
The former centre coached the Stormers between 2016 and 2019, facing Rennie's Chiefs three times at Newlands during that period. Those meetings included a 60-21 quarter-final defeat in 2016, a 34-26 victory the following year, and a 17-11 quarter-final loss thereafter. His direct experience of Rennie's methods extended beyond the field — Fleck also undertook professional development sessions with the New Zealander during his tenure at Glasgow Warriors.
"He's probably the best I know. I went and did some professional development with him when he was head coach at Glasgow, and he's my favourite coach of all time," Fleck said.
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Rennie guided the Chiefs to consecutive Super Rugby titles in 2012 and 2013 before taking charge of the Glasgow Warriors, the Wallabies, the Kobe Steelers, and now the All Blacks.
Fleck: 'Everything is a fight'
Fleck was unambiguous about what defines a Rennie-coached team: relentless physicality above all else.
"The key ingredient for Dave Rennie is physicality. He builds his whole game around it, and he calls it 'brutality'. You sit and listen to this guy speak and everything is about being brutal — collisions, the breakdown, the tackle," Fleck said.
"Everything is a fight. As soon as you give an inch to the opposition, you're losing the game."
Fleck added that while set-piece remains important to Rennie, the physical battle is non-negotiable. He noted that the touring squad Rennie has assembled is notably large, which he interpreted as a deliberate response to the Springboks' well-documented forward power.
"Look at the touring side Rennie has brought over, he's brought big humans to counter the Springboks," Fleck said. "He'll be driving that message throughout this campaign about how physical they have to be to beat South Africa."
He concluded his assessment with a clear verdict on what makes Rennie effective across every environment he has worked in.
"That is Dave Rennie: an old-school, hard-nosed coach who understands the nuances of the game. Every single side he's coached, you can see that Dave Rennie flavour coming through, and that's a sign of a very good coach."
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Source: Briefly News
