Why monster trucks were a talking point at victorious All Blacks presser
The wisdom of holding a monster truck extravaganza seven days before a rugby Test was questioned by Dave Rennie after a crushing All Blacks win on Saturday.
Fans flocked to Accor Stadium for the ‘Monster Jam’ event last weekend, with promoters promising “12,000-pound monster trucks that will tear up the dirt.”
The patchy playing surface at Accor Stadium. Getty Images
Monster Jam trucks at AAMI Park in Melbourne. Nine
It left the surface noticeably patchy and while it didn’t stop New Zealand thumping the Wallabies 43-21, it led to questions surrounding player safety.
Hulking All Blacks forwards Shannon Frizell and Samisoni Taukei’aho both went down with injury, but Rennie stopped short of suggesting a correlation.
“I’m not sure about that. It sounds like there was some monster trucks on there a week ago, so probably not the ideal preparation,” the ex-Wallabies coach said.
“I’m not sure about Shannon because it was just him running. And then Samisoni, his calf just tightened up. We’re not certain around those.“
The All Blacks also lost starting centres Jordie Barrett (calf) before kickoff and Quinn Tupaea (concussion) shortly after.
Rennie is already without first-choice playmakers Ruben Love (ankle) and Richie Mo’unga (calf).
“It just highlights how fortunate we are,” Rennie said.
“We’ve got a couple of 10s out, and we’re playing Damien and Beauden (Barrett) out the back. His (Barrett’s) experience, his communication, quality of his decision-making is just excellent.
“You saw him under pressure last week and managed to step out of three tackles, you know, picking off that try was reasonably important (intercepting Max Jorgensen in Sydney).
“If they score there it’s 29-14, we feel like we’ve had total dominance in the half, but they’re in it. So it’s great having them in the mix.”
Rennie coached the Wallabies from 2020 until he was unceremoniously sacked in 2023 and replaced by Eddie Jones.
All Blacks coach Dave Rennie and Australia coach Les Kiss. AP
He was asked if he derived any personal satisfaction by thumping the Wallabies twice.
“It’s not about me. I loved my time here. I got to work with a lot of great people. It’s been nice catching up with those guys last week, and again we’ll have a beer with them in the changing room tonight. Look, I’m really rapt with our guys,” he said.
“They’re good men who’ve worked really hard, and we’ve got an important trophy back in the cabinet, so we’ll celebrate that tonight.”
