Rennie demands sharper All Blacks after Italy win as Ireland test looms

Dave Rennie acknowledged progress but called for a cleaner performance from the All Blacks after they overcame Italy in a match that saw a dominant second-half flurry of tries offset by a flat final quarter.

New Zealand trailed 7-0 early after centre Tommaso Menoncello crossed for Italy’s opening try, but the All Blacks led 14-10 at the break and broke the game open shortly after half-time with a series of well-worked scores. Italy were ultimately restricted to 17 points, their second try not arriving until the 56th minute.

“I think we need to be better. We need to be better against Ireland than we were tonight,” Rennie said after the match. “When we got that right, we were a real handful tonight, so I’m pleased with the strides we’re starting to make defensively. Tana’s put a lot of time into them, and it’s good to see a bit of a response.”

Rennie had anticipated Italy would defend aggressively across the field, and while his side eventually found the gaps, he was frustrated by the turnover count and the failure to press home the advantage in the final quarter once the replacements came on.

“I just thought some of our decision making, we just turned too much ball over too easily at key times,” he said. “We knew the Italians would bar up. We knew they’d fill the field, and we just needed to be patient and accurate. I thought it was a great response after half-time, but disappointing that we didn’t kick on from there.”

The pick of the second-half passages came in the 42nd minute, when the backs swept wide from first five Ruben Love, switching the attack back left before replacement winger Josh Moorby burst through a gap outside Will Jordan and found Cam Roigard on the inside to score. Rennie credited attack coach Mike Blair’s layered system for the move.

“I thought you can see Mike Blair’s influence on our attack, and it’s very layered. When we get guys popping up and we’re trying to pick teams off, you know, we look really good,” Rennie said.

Jordie Barrett was prominent throughout, regathering a blocked kick to set up Ethan de Groot and then improvising to release Moorby down the touchline for Will Jordan’s second. A quick tap from Love provided the platform for Jordan’s record-breaking score, with Barrett delivering a precise cutout pass to send him clear on the right.

With the game beyond Italy’s reach, the All Blacks lost momentum as the bench emptied — a pattern Rennie will want addressed before the Ireland fixture.