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'McLennan needs to go': Former AB slams 'inhumane' treatment of Rennie
By Finn Morton
World Cup winning All Black Israel Dagg has sensationally called out Rugby Australia’s “inhumane” treatment of Dave Rennie, after the former Wallabies coach was sacked last week.
Rugby Australia’s staggering decision to axe Rennie eight months out from this year’s World Cup in France has not gone down well across the Tasman Sea.
While the Wallabies have replaced the New Zealand-born coach with a more than worthy candidate in rugby guru Eddie Jones, the decision has still come as a surprise to many.
Former All Blacks flyhalf Stephen Donald believes Rugby Australia “turned on” Rennie following an injury-ravaged campaign.
But the 2011 Rugby World Cup hero isn’t alone in expressing that view.
In fact, Rennie’s axing is still the talk of the town.
Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan recently told SEN 1170 that there had been conversations with Jones about an Australian homecoming over the last 14 months.
The writing was already on the wall for Rennie following a tough campaign, but the RFU’s decision to sack former England coach Jones seemingly sealed his fate.
Former test fullback Israel Dagg has explained why he believes McLennan “needs to go” as a result of the "unfair" treatment of the former Wallabies coach.
“I just don’t think they have any leadership at the top if I’m going to be completely honest,” Dagg said on SENZ Breakfast.
“I think that McLennan needs to go. He’s had some outrageous, outlandish calls over the last couple of years, last year… something that’s just mind-blowing and mind-boggling.
“I’ve heard rumours about the situation, the way that they went about the recruiting of Eddie Jones and what they did to Dave Rennie and it’s just not normal and it’s really unfair.
“I can understand that they wanted to go in a direction and they wanted to get an Australian at the helm but the way they went about it is just inhumane, I feel.”
This decision could potentially define a generation of rugby talent Down Under.
Eddie Jones is box office; what the 62-year-old will undoubtedly breathe new life into the struggling sport in Australia.
But the Wallabies need to win; it’s a results driven industry after all.
Jones took the Wallabies to a World Cup final in 2003 after recruiting some of the biggest names n rugby league at the time, and he might have to do it again.
“Like Beaver said the other day, I’ve been harping on about this, they just don’t have the depth in Australian rugby,” he added.
“The top 22, 23, they’re solid and they can probably potentially go onto a semi-final and push on, but they won’t win it with the current depth that they’ve got.
“So they really need to dig in, find a bit more depth around Australia.
“They need to dig into the league depth because they’ve got plenty and try and encourage these players.
“If anyone can, he’s done it with Lote Tuqiri and Wendell Sailor – Eddie Jones – he’s your man, but right now they’ve got no depth and I do think that they’re lacking leadership at the top.”
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Latest Comments
It is if he thinks he’s got hold of the ball and there is at least one other player between him and the ball carrier, which is why he has to reach around and over their heads. Not a deliberate action for me.
Go to commentsI understand, but England 30 years ago were a set piece focused kick heavy team not big on using backs.
Same as now.
South African sides from any period will have a big bunch of forwards smashing it up and a first five booting everything in their own half.
NZ until recently rarely if ever scrummed for penalties; the scrum is to attack from, broken play, not structured is what we’re after.
Same as now.
These are ways of playing very ingrained into the culture.
If you were in an English club team and were off to Fiji for a game against a club team you’d never heard of and had no footage of, how would you prepare?
For a forward dominated grind or would you assume they will throw the ball about because they are Fijian?
A Fiji way. An English way.
An Australian way depends on who you’ve scraped together that hasn’t been picked off by AFL or NRL, and that changes from generation to generation a lot of the time.
Actually, maybe that is their style. In fact, yes they have a style.
Nevermind. Fuggit I’ve typed it all out now.
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