All Blacks assistant job not for me, says Rennie

Chiefs coach Dave Rennie is not setting his sights on becoming an All Blacks assistant coach to position himself for a crack at the top job post-2019.

On Monday when it was announced that Steve Hansen had signed on through till after the 2019 World Cup, New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew indicated Hansen’s successor would be involved in the tournament in Japan – presumably meaning with the All Blacks.

Rennie is a top contender. He is contracted with the Chiefs till the end of next season, with an option for 2018, but has always indicated a desire to coach overseas.

With Hansen set to step down after 2019 it means Rennie only has a short window to take an overseas club or international side before making a push for the country’s top gig, so an option could be to take on some sort of All Blacks assistant role if it is made available.

But when asked on Wednesday about the prospect of taking on an assistant role, Rennie basically said that for him it was the top job or nothing – that if he stays in New Zealand it will be with his current job.

‘‘I don’t see myself doing an assistant role,’’ he said.

‘‘If I stayed in New Zealand I’d stay with the Chiefs.’’

NZR have been in constant contact with the potential next All Blacks coaches to keep them in the loop, with Rennie one of those, along with other contenders already coaching overseas, and Rennie applauded NZR’s move to reappoint Hansen.

‘‘I think it’s a good move by New Zealand [Rugby], he’s a good coach, been really successful, and why would you push someone out the door whose doing such a good job,’’ he said.

‘‘Who knows, he may stay here till ‘23 or ‘27, you know.

‘‘There’s only one job isn’t there, and there’s a lot of people who probably want it,’’ Rennie said.

‘‘I’m not sure that everyone will wait around for it, and maybe a bit of luck about timing, if you’re around and available when it becomes available.

‘‘Nothing changes point of view.

‘‘I’ve talked a lot about planning to head overseas at some stage. Anyway, the focus is on the Chiefs at the moment, and I’ll worry about that stuff maybe next year.’’ from my