From the moment he took on the job, Rennie made a pledge to bring a new ruthless edge to the Wallabies by picking players on form and not reputation.
And if that means dropping players whenever they don’t live up to expectations, he’s already shown he won’t hesitate to make those cutthroat calls.
True to his word, Rennie made four changes after the Wallabies drew with New Zealand in last weekend’s opening test in Wellington so you can expect more when he sits down to select the side for the must-win third test in Sydney on October 31.
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Asked what he would do to solve the glaring Australian defensive problems that saw the Wallabies miss a whopping 40 tackles, Rennie’s curt response cut straight to the point.
“Selection can sometimes fix that, can’t it? he said.
Just who will say the price remains to be seen because so many Australian players were guilty of missing tackles during the match – killing any hope the Wallabies had of ending their 34-year hoodoo at Eden Park.
All the improvement the Wallabies made in Wellington counted for zilch as the All Blacks easily punched holes in the Australian defence, with Caleb Clarke and Ardie Savea having a field day.
Clarke is a superstar in the making – a giant winger already drawing comparisons with the legendary Jonah Lomu – but the Wallabies made life easy for the Kiwis by coughing up possession 20 times then blowing two try scoring opportunities that would have got them back into the contest.
“It’s pretty simple,” Rennie said.
“If you turn the ball over against the All Blacks and you don’t defend well then you’re going to get hurt because they’ve got some good athletes and that’s pretty much the tale today.
“We had some opportunities in the second half to score and if we’d taken them maybe we were in the race but it was not to be.”
All is not lost for the Wallabies just yet.
They can still regain the Bledisloe Cup if they win the two remaining matches in Australia but it will take a massive turnaround because this was a crushing defeat.
The 20-point loss was a giant leap forward from last year’s 36-0 humiliation in Auckland but no less depressing because the Wallabies were their own worst enemies.
“They were better this week, they raised the bar and got ahead of us,” Wallabies captain Michael Hooper said.
“We’ll go back home now, get a few days off and regroup. We’re building. A bit of a hit to the confidence there today but we’ll go again.”
No-one should be surprised the All Blacks lifted their game because they always do after a loss or a draw, but the Wallabies still had their chances.
After giving up an early try to halfback Aaron Smith, the Wallabies went to the break trailing 10-7 after open side flanker Ned Hanigan – one of Australia’s best players after being recalled to the side for the first time in nearly two years – set up the team’s only try.
Marika Koroibete scored out wide after Hanigan had made the initial bust when he split the defence but the Wallabies failed to go on with the job in the second half after losing Matt Toomua to a groin injury.
Jordan Petaia showed some real flashes of individual brilliance when he came on to replace Toomua but the Australian defence fell to pieces as Jordie Barrett, Savea and the New Zealand skipper Sam Cane ran in three quick tries in an 11-minute blitz just after the restart and the Australians missed their chances to reply, with winger Marika Koroibete held up over the line then hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa pinged for a double movement.
“In typical Aussie fashion, they did not roll over. We had a little rich period of about or so minutes after halftime which we’re really pleased with because it was the focus after the break,” Cane said.
“We managed to hang in there. It would have been nice to put a few more on them but that’s test footy.”
Originally published as Bledisloe Cup 2020: All Blacks thrash Wallabies 27-7 in fiery contest, highlights, video
Updates
FULLTIME: Australia 7 – 27 New Zealand
That's the end of it! A scrappy finish ends a scrappy performance from the Wallabies, who come back down to earth after last week's 16-all draw.
A 15 minute burst to start the second half was the difference in this one, with tries to Jordie Barrett, Ardie Savea and Sam Cane blowing the lead out to 20 points.
Australia dominated periods of the game, but couldn't convert it into points when it mattered.
Dave Rennie will look to the missed tackles and costly errors as the key reasons behind the defeat – but the task is simple now. With two Bledisloe Cup games on home soil still to come, wins in both will return the trophy for the first time since 2002.
FULLTIME: Australia 7 – 27 New Zealand
That's the end of it! A scrappy finish ends a scrappy performance from the Wallabies, who come back down to earth after last week's 16-all draw.
A 15 minute burst to start the second half was the difference in this one, with tries to Jordie Barrett, Ardie Savea and Sam Cane blowing the lead out to 20 points.
Australia dominated periods of the game, but couldn't convert it into points when it mattered.
Dave Rennie will look to the missed tackles and costly errors as the key reasons behind the defeat – but the task is simple now. With two Bledisloe Cup games on home soil still to come, wins in both will return the trophy for the first time since 2002.
77' Australia 7 – 27 New Zealand
Moooooooore mistakes. Marika Koroibete is put into a little bit of space but he comes up with another error – basic stuff – to give New Zealand a scrum in midfield.
That's the story of the day for Australia. Lots of effort. But too many missed tackles and dropped ball has buried them.
77' Australia 7 – 27 New Zealand
Moooooooore mistakes. Marika Koroibete is put into a little bit of space but he comes up with another error – basic stuff – to give New Zealand a scrum in midfield.
That's the story of the day for Australia. Lots of effort. But too many missed tackles and dropped ball has buried them.
If there's one thing that can be taken from today's performance – which I think we can agree is headed towards a heavy defeat, barring a miracle – it's the efforts of Ned Hanigan.
It's been his best in a gold jersey, by some margin.
His huge run in the first half set up Australia's only try and he's been a regular menace at the breakdown.
If there's one thing that can be taken from today's performance – which I think we can agree is headed towards a heavy defeat, barring a miracle – it's the efforts of Ned Hanigan.
It's been his best in a gold jersey, by some margin.
His huge run in the first half set up Australia's only try and he's been a regular menace at the breakdown.
67' Australia 7 – 27 New Zealand
Some respite for the Wallabies as Caleb Clarke is replaced.
The powerhouse winger has done his best Jonah Lomu impression today, with some ridiculously powerful ball-running.
The Aussies simply had no answer for his hard running.
67' Australia 7 – 27 New Zealand
Some respite for the Wallabies as Caleb Clarke is replaced.
The powerhouse winger has done his best Jonah Lomu impression today, with some ridiculously powerful ball-running.
The Aussies simply had no answer for his hard running.
62' Australia 7 – 27 New Zealand
It's the same old story for the Wallabies, who are competing well before being let down by poor handling.
Another attacking raid comes up short as Hunter Paisami spills possession under heavy pressure from the All Blacks defence.
There's been far too much dropped ball and you simply can't do that against New Zealand.
"That'll be the topic of conversation at Wallabies training the next couple of weeks – the ball control and maintaining (possession)," says Phil Kearns in commentary.
That's fair to say.
54' Australia 7 – 27 New Zealand
That's a hammer blow from the All Blacks – who capitalise on a costly error from Jordan Petaia who spills the ball.
And from there the holes open up in the Wallabies' defensive line, and a rampaging Sam Cane charges through for a rare try.
It's a long way back for the Wallabies from here, even with 25 minutes still on the clock.
The missed tackle count is becoming alarming, too.
