Former All Blacks scrum-half Brad Weber has claimed he is jealous that the current team is being coached by Dave Rennie.
The 35-year-old half-back stepped away from Test rugby following New Zealand’s run to the final at Rugby World Cup 2023. He had travelled to London as non-squad cover for a warm-up match against the Springboks, but never officially joined the squad for the finals.
It meant his last cap came away to Wales in November 2022 and the way selection went resulted in him taking up an offer to join Stade Francais. He has since played for Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars in Japan and it was there that he made a tongue-in-cheek offer to Rennie a fortnight after it had been announced last March that he would succeed Scott Robertson as the All Blacks coach.
Appearing on the latest edition of the KOKO show ahead of this Saturday’s second Bledisloe Cup match, Weber was asked what impact the All Blacks’ loss of the recent Greatest Rivalry series against the Springboks had on the support in New Zealand for Rennie.
“Made a few people nervous…”
“It certainly probably made a few people nervous around where the All Blacks team is at,” he admitted before going on to sing the praises of his former Super Rugby mentor. “I was lucky enough to be coached by him my first four or five years at the Chiefs when I first arrived and he’s like been by far the best coach that I’ve ever had.
“At least the style of rugby that the All Blacks are playing now seems a lot more us, a lot more our DNA, so if we were to go down fighting like that, it’s probably a bit more palatable for the public. But I mean, I’ve been on record saying that if Dave Rennie can’t get the All Blacks back to our former glory, then no one can. Like, we’ve got deeper issues than the All Blacks coach.
“He’s by far the best coach I’ve ever had and I’m actually really jealous of these boys that they get to be coached by him at international level. I wish I was still a chance to get back in there.
“I actually did float it to him. We played against his team (Kobe Steelers) in Japan about two weeks after he got the job. I went, ‘Dave, I’m off contract next year, mate, so I feel like you need an experienced nine in that group. They shut it down pretty quickly. Asked me if I was still as quick as I used to be and I said I might have lost a pace or two, but I’m sharper up here,” he quipped.
Another major talking point heading into last weekend’s Bledisloe Cup opener in Auckland was the selection of Damian McKenzie at No.10. This positional switch for the full-back divided public opinion, but he was a pivotal player in New Zealand’s 50-19 win and has retained that spot for this Saturday’s rematch in Sydney.
“I thought he was outstanding,” reckoned Weber, the 18-cap international. “When you talk about momentum, he really recognises when we’re playing on top and when to come from depth and actually hit the line really hard. Like the couple of times in that first half where he got the ball out the back and he just punched into that hole with his speed and his agility, he just causes so much damage to defences.
“I was on a couple of radio shows last week and Damian has a lot of sceptics over this side of the Tasman. He’s very polarising for a lot of people and I had to kind of go to bat for the guy, that this guy’s played nearly 100 Tests, he’s been one of, if not the best player in Super Rugby over the last five years, and most of that has been at 10.
“And then the (international) chances that he’s had at 10 over the last couple of years, he’s been under a different regime, right? Whereas playing in Dave Rennie’s style really suits him. I was really excited for what he was going to be able to do, and he showed how good he was.
All Blacks great: Springboks series ‘exposed’ Dave Rennie’s side with the ‘culling’ already underway
“I mean, he’s been so good at 15 under this Dave Rennie attacking shape and he has had to move into 10 a couple of times when Ruben Love’s been off for a yellow card in a couple of matches and he’s looked pretty damn good there, too. He has been a game winner for the All Blacks over the last couple of years. People just have priors on Damian and it just leaks into what they think about him now, but he is the complete 10.”
Weber was also effusive in his praise for Jordie Barrett. “My favourite player in world rugby at the moment, he’s just incredible,” he enthused. “He reminds me of Bobby Boucher and The Waterboy. Like, he just gets a bit angry. He got bumped off once and then you just watch him – he’s just flying around and just trying to smack anything that moves.
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“He’s got to be a nominee for world player of the year for this year. He’s just been the All Blacks’ best forever. Just sets the tone physically and you can definitely tell he’s the youngest brother, right? He must have been bullied growing up by those other boys because he’s just got some sort of dog about him, which I just love.”
Despite the heavy loss for the Wallabies in Auckland, Weber was asked if there was one Australian player he would like to have in the All Blacks team. “Good question. I’d go Rob Valetini. I’d like Valetini on the side of the scrum on the side of our scrum.”