Rennie has the credentials but will his past haunt him?
New Zealand Rugby politics aside, Dave Rennie pushing the rumours aside to confirm his interest in the All Blacks job would appear to harm the prospects of Ian Foster.
Unlike most rumoured candidates, the coaching feats of Rennie and Foster can be placed side by side.
Both are former Chiefs coaches; Foster won no titles, Rennie won two.
In his final year (2011) Foster’s Chiefs finished bottom of the New Zealand conference. In his first year (2012) Rennie took what looked to be a weaker Chiefs squad to the title.
And Rennie did it again in 2013. On a straight Chiefs comparison, Rennie beats Foster.
But comparisons are never straight, if even fair. What goes on in selection panels, processes and board rooms is murky, and what emerges is often controversial.
For all that, Rennie saying NZR interest is ‘‘very flattering’’ puts the cat among the coaching pigeons. He is a quality coach, with a proven record.
The All Blacks losing to England has opened up an appetite for change, with successful Crusaders coach Scott Robertson, Rennie and Japan boss Jamie Joseph all prominent in speculation.
Under Rennie (with former All Blacks coach Wayne Smith riding shotgun for three years) the Chiefs never missed the Super Rugby playoffs.
His Glasgow Warriors, too, have tasted finals football, making the Pro14 semifinals in his first season, then losing the final to Leinster in the season just gone.
Under Rennie, New Zealand won the under-20 world title three times on end.
While in Hamilton, the Lower Hutt-born 55-year-old showed a full hand of coaching skills.
Those who watched him in action summarise him thus: he’s hard-nosed, doesn’t tolerate fools, is astute and has a deep rugby intelligence.
‘‘Dave is a world-class coach and the results on the field speak for themselves. He enjoys huge respect from players and fans, and right across the rugby community,’’ departing NZR chief executive Steve Tew once said of him.
That aside though, perhaps the greatest quality Rennie has is bringing a team together, and making them more than the sum of its parts.
His Chiefs squad of 2012 overachieved, and the 2013 side – by then Sonny Bill Williams had left – over-achieved even more.
Under Rennie, under-rated players such as Asaeli Tikoirototuma, Tim NanaiWilliams, Robbie Robinson, Andrew Horrell, Ben Tameifuna and Michael Fitzgerald flourished.
Bundee Aki (Ireland) and Gareth Anscombe (Wales) were among the unsung players to graduate to international rugby out of Rennie’s Chiefs.
Rennie built an off-field culture that involved visiting small towns, getting his players doing community work.
On the field his no-nonsense approach constructed a titaniumstrength defence, reluctant to concede silly penalties.
On the negative side, Rennie was coach at the Chiefs when their postseason celebrations led to allegations of homophobia and harassment of a stripper.
Rennie arrived at the NZR presser on its Strippergate findings wearing casual clothes, while Tew was dressed formally.
And where Tew saw much that was wrong around the finding, Rennie begged to differ – not a career-advancing tactic.
‘‘It’s a lesson in regard to that and if you have a celebration behind closed doors and no-one knows what goes on, then that’s where it ends regardless of what happens. That’s the cross you bear being a professional athlete,’’ Rennie said.
But Tew is soon to depart, with Mark Robinson taking over at the top. That could be a factor.
Rennie has said he has not signed any contract with Rugby Australia to take over the Wallabies, though until yesterday he was widely expected to be Michael Cheika’s successor. There have been reports suggesting an agreement had already been struck.
With both Australia and New Zealand working to similar timeframes to appoint a new coach, it’s a tricky business. Coaches are likely playing off one against the other, in search of the most plum of two plum jobs.
New Zealand Rugby is due to decide who will replace Steve Hansen by Christmas.
This week Stuff reported that Foster was said to have already assembled a formidable support team in his pitch for the job.
In the past, Rennie has said his stance to the All Blacks was head coach or nothing. Which will it be?