Dave Rennie’s four All Blacks assistant coaches revealed

The All Blacks have three new assistant coaches to join Dave Rennie in taking the team through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

Scott Hansen and Tamati Ellison have both lost their jobs after serving as assistants to former head coach Scott Robertson.

Jason Ryan has been retained as forwards coach having first landed the role under Ian Foster who took the All Blacks to the 2023 World Cup final.

Former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga is on board as the defence coach, current Taranaki NPC coach Neil Barnes is the senior assistant coach, and Mike Blair is the attack coach.

Rennie is confident he has assembled a world-class group of coaches.

“This is a very experienced and highly skilled coaching team.” Rennie said

“Each of these men has a track record of getting the best out of the players and teams they coach, and they are each hugely motivated to get stuck in and deliver the same success with the All Blacks.”

52 year-old Umaga will begin his role at the end of the current Super Rugby season with Moana Pasifika.

Ex-Scotland halfback Blair is currently the attack coach under Rennie at the Kobe Steelers and will relocate to New Zealand at the conclusion of the Japan Rugby League One season.

The new group come into the job with just 18-months until the Rugby World Cup in Australia and face one of the most gruelling seasons in history.

The All Blacks will play 13 tests this year starting with Six Nations champions France in Christchurch on July 4th, followed by Italy in Wellington a week later, and then Ireland at Eden Park on July 18th.

That’s followed by a full tour of South Africa starting in September including four test matches against the World Champion Springboks.

Two Bledisloe Cup tests against the Wallabies follow in October with tests against Scotland, Wales, and England in the UK to finish off the year in November.