Dave Rennie ended his time in Japan the way he will want it remembered. The Kobelco Kobe Steelers held their nerve to beat the Kubota Spears 22-13 at Tokyo's MUFG Stadium on Saturday, handing Rennie the Japan Rugby League One title in his last match before he takes charge of the All Blacks.
It was Kobe's first championship since 2018, and Rennie's first piece of club silverware since he won Super Rugby with the Chiefs in 2013. Inoke Burua crossed for the Steelers and Seungsin Lee was reliable off the tee, while All Blacks pair Ardie Savea and Brodie Retallick anchored a side that had peaked at the right time. Savea scored twice in a record-breaking semi-final win over Cheslin Kolbe's team, according to Planet Rugby, before the final tightened into the arm-wrestle Rennie's teams tend to win.
The victory closes one chapter and opens a far bigger one. Appointed in March, Rennie now inherits a New Zealand side he has studied only from a distance, having spent nine years coaching abroad with Glasgow, Australia and Kobe. He is unapologetic about what that outside view has taught him.
"It's a tough world now. It's a tough global competition," Rennie said in an interview with Sky Sport NZ after his appointment. "There have been massive strides made up north and I think we take for granted that all the innovation comes from New Zealand, and it's not the case. We've got to respect what's been happening out there and we've got to learn from it."
He is wary of over-complicating the rebuild. "I think we need to be brilliant at basics," he said, pointing to footwork in contact, quality of catch-pass and decision-making as the foundations he wants to raise. Pressed on what supporters should expect, he was blunt: "What they should expect to see will be really well organised. I want us to have real clarity. I'm clear on the type of game we want to play."
Rennie also offered an honest read of his own coaching character. "I'm the type of guy who puts an arm around someone while I'm digging them in the ribs," he said. "I care and I want to help people, but I also want to be demanding to get the best out of them."
The most contested part of his in-tray is selection. Rennie has signalled he will at least explore picking players based overseas, a long-running tension point in New Zealand rugby, and confirmed two marquee names are on his mind. "A lot of people keep talking about Brodie," he said of Retallick. "I don't know if I can talk him into coming back for a World Cup, but I've already mentioned it to him." On Richie Mo'unga, he was more certain: "Richie's coming back regardless."
He insisted any shift would be measured rather than a free-for-all, noting that roughly 110 former Super Rugby players are now scattered across the world's biggest leagues, many of them ineligible or already capped by other nations.
For now, Rennie is juggling two jobs. He will commute back to New Zealand every four weeks to build connection with his squad and franchises while finishing his commitments in Japan. "Obviously this is the end of my three-year term, but I can double up," he said. "I've done it a lot of times before, and every spare hour will be dedicated towards the All Blacks."
The clock is the one opponent he cannot out-coach. "We've got 15 months. It's going to be a sprint to a World Cup," he said. Day one, he admitted, would end quietly: a beer, time with family, and an early flight. The reset starts now.
