All Blacks Assistants Named, But Are Doubts Already Emerging?

There’s a difference between excitement and acceptance - and right now, this new All Blacks coaching group sits somewhere awkwardly in between.

The names are in, with Neil Barnes (senior assistant), Tana Umaga (defence), Mike Blair (attack) and Jason Ryan (forwards) confirmed as Dave Rennie’s coaching team.

Is this group one to fill the players and Kiwi rugby fans with confidence? Today’s Rugby Roundtable on the DSPN provided differing views.

Host Martin Devlin described the occasion as a celebration. Mark ‘Watto’ Watson - longtime sports broadcaster - didn’t sugarcoat his take though.

“[I’m] a little underwhelmed… to be honest. It sort of doesn't really just stand out for me.

“I just thought this was the most important appointment probably in All Black history, in regards to getting our head coach and obviously the assistant coaches. I don't know who was involved, how far they went and how wide they went.”

Important indeed, as a sacking - the one that Scott Robertson endured in January - hasn’t really taken place ever before (depending on how you view Wayne Smith's departure in 2001).

Whichever coach takes over not only needs a résumé jam-packed with rugby coaching experience, but also the right assistants to fix the issues that got us here in the first place.

Robertson and his crew totally lost buy-in from the players and, after a pretty brutal review into the 2025 test season, the lawmakers at New Zealand Rugby felt the same.

One man remains from Razor’s team - Jason Ryan, who also served under Ian Foster in 2022 and 2023.

Watto questioned Ryan’s retention, and also discussed Umaga and whether or not he can work magic with the defence.

“I just want to see Tana Umaga’s CV… to say that this guy is the best defensive coach, I haven't seen it,” Watto added.

John Day, another Roundtable host, offered a counterbalance rooted in context and reality. On Umaga specifically, he reminded us of the following.

“Tana in the 13 jersey, in this jersey that he's now coaching, was one of the best defenders we had in the All Blacks at the time.”

And more broadly, Day’s take was grounded in the realities of the global coaching market. This isn’t a video game where you just pick the best names available. Contracts, timing, and World Cup cycles matter. As he pointed out, mid-cycle, you’re simply not going to land the world’s top assistants.

That’s where Martin Devlin leaned in with a dose of common sense, pushing back on the “underwhelmed” narrative.

“I think that if you're saying you're underwhelmed, look, you could handpick whoever you want from around the world, but are they available right now?”

Devlin also highlighted something often overlooked in these conversations - trust. Coaches don’t just pick the best CVs; they pick the people they know, the people they trust, the ones they can work with under pressure.

We saw that very much with Razor’s crew - there was a distinct Crusaders flavour, and his relationship with Scott Hansen at the red and blacks was replicated at international level.

For Rennie, names like Barnes and Blair make sense - they’ve worked together in the past.

But Watson wasn’t buying the whole argument, and remained skeptical.

“How innovative is this group? How stuck in his ways is Neil Barnes? Is he a guy that’s going to be a game changer? Is there any real innovation?

“Are we going to become Rassie Erasmus, the next version of him? Or are we going to go back to an old school style, keep to the basics?”

Devlin replied: “Is your glass half empty here? I can feel it, I just want to top it up a little. Aren’t we meant to be celebrating this announcement?”

So where does that leave us? Day is optimistic, Watson is a touch pessimistic, and Devlin sits somewhere in the middle.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to not what’s on paper, but what happens next.

As Watson himself put it: “prove me wrong, please.”