Derpus
Nathan Sharpe (72)
Hopefully.Rennie being NZR's favoured candidate seems feasible to me. Likely, even. If so, I suspect he became the preferred candidate at about half time in the semifinal. Prior to that they likely assumed Jabba would win, and old benign Fozzie would be promoted by virtue of seniority and continuity; hence why Rennie had next to no contact with NZR prior to the RWC.
Having thrown all their eggs into the continuity-at-all-costs basket, NZR now find themselves in a proper pickle of their own making. Unfortunately they'll probably double down on it and it'll regularly see Rennie eat Foster for lunch over the next few seasons.