In-demand Dave Rennie gives Glasgow a new-season boost

Glasgow Warriors’ Dave Rennie has signed a one-year contract extension, a development that will see him remain at Scotstoun until at least June 2020 and bring to an end the speculation that he was being lined up for a Test team move away from the club at the end of this season, possibly to Australia.

The Lower Hutt native – who took over from Gregor Townsend ahead of the 2017/18 campaign – has led the Warriors to two consecutive appearances in the Guinness PRO14 final series, in addition to a Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final against Saracens this season.

With his side sitting top of the Guinness PRO14 try-scoring charts, Rennie’s philosophy of attacking rugby has won plaudits from across Europe.

The former Chiefs boss has also been active in bringing young Scottish players to the fore, with Adam Hastings, George Horne, Stafford McDowall and Grant Stewart amongst those to have flourished during his time in charge.

A former centre, Rennie began his coaching career with Wellington in 1999, before taking charge of the all-conquering New Zealand under-20s side that claimed three consecutive world titles between 2008 and 2010.

(Continue reading below…)

Success at the Chiefs followed as he led the Hamilton-based franchise to back-to-back Super Rugby titles in 2012 and 2013, before making the journey north to Glasgow in 2017.

Glasgow sit top of Conference A in the Guinness PRO14 with two regular season games left to play – against Leinster in Dublin this Saturday and at home to Edinburgh on April 27.

Speaking to glasgowwarriors.org, Rennie said: “I’ve really enjoyed my first two years in Glasgow. It’s a different challenge for me and there are really good people at the club, so it was an easy decision to stay.

CONFIRMED | The gaffer is going nowhere | ✍️ Dave Rennie has signed a contract extension with Glasgow Warriors ⚔️🛡 pic.twitter.com/HBxCvr3T8l

— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) April 9, 2019

“We didn’t quite get to where we wanted last season, but we’ve got a better side this season and the squad we’re building will be even better next season. I’m really keen to be a part of that.

“We’re going to have a lot of guys away at the Rugby World Cup and then our Scotland players will play in the Six Nations, so we won’t see a lot of those men, but we’ve got good depth and it’ll be a great opportunity for others during that period, so there is so reason why we can’t kick on.

“It’s an exciting time for the club and I really appreciate the support we are getting from Scottish Rugby, as we continue to build and develop our squad.”

Scottish Rugby chief executive Mark Dodson said: “Dave is doing a great job in Glasgow and we’re delighted he is staying to continue building Glasgow Warriors into one of the top teams in Europe.

“He has helped develop a number of young players over the last couple of years and got them into the knockout stages of the Heineken Champions Cup and Guinness PRO14. We’re looking forward to seeing the team continue to develop under Dave and his coaching team next season.”

With just 2️⃣ games left of the regular season this is how the @PRO14Official Conference A looks👇 pic.twitter.com/3lob7WQlPU

— Glasgow Warriors (@GlasgowWarriors) April 6, 2019

Glasgow managing director, Nathan Bombrys added: “We’re very pleased that Dave has extended his stay at Glasgow. He’s been great to work with and you can see that the players really enjoy playing for him. It has been rewarding to see our players really blossom under his coaching.

“Dave and his coaches led us to our second-ever Heineken Champions Cup quarter final earlier this season and now into the Guinness PRO14 final series for the second consecutive year.

“Dave comes to work every day hungry to win trophies for this club and I know he’s absolutely focussed on the immediate task of securing a home semi-final over these next two games.”