The Wallabies aren\u2019t at full strength. They\u2019re missing prop Taniela Tupou and loose forward Tom Hooper, both of whom returned to their clubs abroad as this year\u2019s Bledisloe tie falls outside the international window to accommodate Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry<\/a> series, and midfielder Hunter Paisami through suspension, hurting their chances.<\/p>\n But so, too, are the All Blacks seriously wounded<\/a>. Ruben Love, Ardie Savea, Luke Jacobson and Caleb Clarke are major absences through injury. Fehi Fineanganofo<\/a>, Anton Lienert-Brown and Patrick Tuipulotu are also missing.<\/p>\n Richie Mo\u2019unga was named internally on Monday, only to suffer a calf injury at Tuesday training, ruling him out of the Bledisloe series before he\u2019s reassessed for the end-of-year tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mo\u2019unga\u2019s withdrawal forces a backline reshuffle, with Damian McKenzie grasping the playmaking reins for the first time this year and Beauden Barrett assuming his place at fullback after featuring in 15 minutes of the four previous tests against South Africa.<\/p>\n Rennie prefers McKenzie at fullback, but with Love and Mo\u2019unga unavailable, it\u2019s a case of needs must, with his experience favoured over rookie Josh Jacomb.<\/p>\n Barrett\u2019s promotion further highlights the All Blacks\u2019 most vulnerable area \u2013 their inability to defuse the high ball.<\/p>\n Alongside smaller wings Leroy Carter and Will Jordan, the Wallabies are certain to send Joseph-Aukuso Sua\u2019ali\u2019i to challenge Barrett and the All Blacks backfield.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve got good men in the air,\u201d Rennie said. \u201cWe had a strategy around it. If you include the scraps and the amount of clean ball in the air, we got around 50%, but South Africa were excellent in that department. We want teams to kick to us because we\u2019ve got a mindset to play on that.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Wallabies play a lot more footy than South Africa, but they\u2019ll play smart. Ryan Lonergan has a good kicking game and I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll use that to take pressure off others.\u201d<\/p>\n Rennie underlined the widespread fine line calls by revealing he, forwards coach Neil Barnes and Graham Henry needed three selection meetings to settle on this week\u2019s squad.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no room for Fabian Holland, one of the All Blacks\u2019 best in South Africa<\/a>, and Tyrel Lomax has paid the price for the scrum issues with his omission from the squad.<\/p>\n Former captain Scott Barrett<\/a> is immediately injected to start with Josh Lord after completing 92 minutes of rugby \u2013 two matches for Taranaki<\/a> \u2013 since last November following back surgery.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we trained this morning you can see his influence, leadership and the connection as well,\u201d Rennie said. \u201cWe\u2019ve altered things a little bit there too, which should help.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow veteran Shannon Frizell will emerge off the bench for his first test in three years after returning from Japan, with Tupou Vaa\u2019i continuing at blindside rather than lock<\/a>.<\/p>\n Those selections speak to the demands for the All Blacks pack to vastly improve their set piece and physicality at the breakdown and in contact after being bullied at times in those departments by the Springboks<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s probably the hardest side we\u2019ve had to pick,\u201d Rennie said. \u201cThere were a lot of tough decisions, and guys who missed out are very close.\u201d<\/p>\n Three successive losses to the Springboks<\/a>, the non-negotiable expectation for the All Blacks to retain the Bledisloe, defend fortress Eden Park and deliver notable improvements, significantly elevates the pressure valve. <\/p>\n This Wallabies side can upset the All Blacks \u2013 their one concern is whether their bench can match the All Blacks\u2019 power in the form of Asafo Aumua and Frizell.<\/p>\n Rennie, having coached many of those in Kiss\u2019 side during his three-year Wallabies tenure, knows the threats they pose.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ll come here confident. They\u2019ve had a good run recently. As you saw against that African side, they were pretty dominant for 70 minutes.<\/p>\n \u201cAll sides come here wanting to be the team to break the record. The Irish were the same when we spoke to them post-game, so we\u2019re well aware of what\u2019s coming.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one wants to be part of the first team for a long time to lose at Eden Park or lose the Bledisloe. You\u2019ve got to reflect on that, but you can\u2019t be stuck in there. We\u2019ve discussed it, and then we use it as fuel.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re dangerous, but that\u2019s good for us, too. We\u2019ve come out of South Africa. We\u2019ve got a point to prove there and we\u2019re up against a worthy opponent. We know we\u2019re going to have to be at our best, so our expectation is that brings out the best in us.\u201d<\/p>\n Three months into Rennie\u2019s reign and the narrative shifts this week.<\/p>\n From outsiders against the world champions to overwhelming favourites against the Wallabies, a response is needed to protect a sacred ground and trophy.<\/p>\n As their stocks rise, hope and belief replace a sense of dread for the Wallabies.<\/p>\n The All Blacks must harness and channel nerves to prove they are not as vulnerable as some suspect.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a familiar theme, maybe, but this could, indeed, be a Bledisloe battle for the ages.<\/p>\n All Blacks: 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor (c), 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Josh Lord, 6. Tupou Vaa\u2019i, 7. Peter Lakai, 8. Wallace Sititi, 9. Cam Roigard, 10. Damian McKenzie, 11. Leroy Carter, 12. Jordie Barrett, 13. Quinn Tupaea, 14. Will Jordan, 15. Beauden Barrett.<\/p>\n Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua, 17. George Bower, 18. Pasilio Tosi, 19. Shannon Frizell, 20. Anton Segner, 21. Kyle Preston, 22. Rieko Ioane, 23. Josh Moorby.<\/p>\n Wallabies: 1. Angus Bell, 2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Jeremy Williams, 5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Fraser McReight, 8. Harry Wilson (c), 9. Ryan Lonergan, 10. Ben Donaldson, 11. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12. Len Ikitau, 13. Isaac Henry, 14. Max Jorgensen, 15. Tom Wright.<\/p>\n Reserves: 16. Josh Nasser, 17. Aidan Ross, 18. Massimo De Lutiis, 19. Lachlan Shaw, 20. Nick Champion de Crespigny, 21. Tate McDermott, 22. Declan Meredith, 23. Harry Potter.<\/p>\n Liam Napier<\/a> is a senior sports journalist and rugby correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n Listen to Elliott Smith\u2019s live commentary on Newstalk ZB Sport and iHeartRadio, or join the Alternative Commentary Collective on iHeartRadio and Radio Hauraki.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rennie was the last Wallabies coach to defeat the All Blacks. In the six years since, the All…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":920276,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[79765,3265,64,63,128155,1700,9658,100097,57655,3933,66329,1460,15448,9484,1787,11920,760,46907,85,19004,37314,2500],"class_list":["post-920275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-705pm","tag-all","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australias","tag-best","tag-blacks","tag-bledisloe","tag-chance","tag-cup","tag-eden","tag-is","tag-liam","tag-napier","tag-of","tag-park","tag-rugby","tag-saturday","tag-sports","tag-this","tag-upset","tag-wallabies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=920275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/920275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/920276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=920275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=920275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=920275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Dave Rennie: “We want teams to kick to us because we\u2019ve got a mindset to play on that.” Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Scott Barrett makes his return for the All Blacks against the Wallabies at Eden Park this weekend. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n