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All black people Head coach Dave Rennie gave his initial assessment of his side’s 3-1 series defeat to the Springboks after scoring the first Test at Ellis Park.
The All Blacks have slumped to yet another defeat in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, their third successive loss against the Springboks in 2026.
Rennie’s side scored a late consolation try through experienced playmaker Beauden Barrett, but it was nowhere near enough as Rassie Erasmus’ Springboks headed home in Baltimore.
Speaking to former All Black Justin Marshall after the match, the All Blacks head coach was quick to highlight his side’s effort.
“Yeah, look, the boys have made a big shift again,” Rennie said Sky Sport.
“You look at all the numbers and it’s very even, but they were electric, and when they got the chance, and we were trying to chase the game late and put ourselves under a little more pressure.”
The 62-year-old head coach admitted that getting to South Africa and the USA to play the Springboks in the four-Test series will not be easy.
“Well yeah, look, it’s disappointing because we had plans to win the series, but the work ethic was great.
“The guys were great. I knew coming in here that we were going to grow and learn a lot about each other, and that was great, so I think we’re in a good place.”
“It’s going to hurt tonight, but you know we’re going to wake up tomorrow, and I think we’re moving in the right direction.
“We’re still trying to build, so I thought our frame was a lot stronger tonight, which is important, and we’ll take a lot of confidence from that.
“And we probably didn’t shoot as well as we wanted to tonight, and we gave them a lot more space. And so we focused on a lot of the little things, and I think our carry and cleanup, you’ve got to earn it against these guys, and we’ve got to work hard for our points.”
Despite the disappointing defeat, Rennie believes they have made strides in various aspects of the game.
“What we know is we’re attacking, we’ve got a bit of continuity, we can score, and I think we’ve scored 17 tries in four tests.
“So we’ve got to do that consistently, and I think we’ve been pretty good defensively throughout the series, and you know, we beat a couple of their flashy bullies tonight.
“Great feed and quick and hurt us, but yeah, look, I think we made some really good strides.”
