Following the announcement of the All Blacks squad for the two Bledisloe Cup matches against Australia, here are our five takeaways from Dave Rennie’s selections.
Top line
The 34-man All Blacks squad selected by Rennie, Sir Graham Henry and Neil Barnes has a familiar look and feel to what we have seen all year, with most of the changes influenced by injuries.
The most notable absentee is Ardie Savea, who misses out due to the injury he sustained in the third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test match against the Springboks. Up until that point, the All Blacks skipper had featured in every one of New Zealand’s Tests this year, and the same was true for fellow back-rower Luke Jacobson, who is also absent from the squad.
Fly-half Ruben Love also joins the growing unavailable list with an ankle injury, where he is joined by Patrick Tuipulotu (calf), Anton Lienert-Brown (knee), Billy Proctor (shoulder), Caleb Clarke (shoulder) and Ollie Norris (knee).
However, Rennie and co have been bolstered by the return of Scott Barrett, who skippered the team under ex-head coach Scott Robertson. The 89-Test cap lock has endured a torrid run of injuries this year but returns to the All Blacks’ fold after featuring for Taranaki last weekend against Hawke’s Bay. He won’t be taking over the captaincy in Savea’s absence, with that honour handed to veteran hooker Codie Taylor, who led the team against South Africa in Baltimore.
Another headline returnee is Shannon Frizell, who features in his first squad since re-signing with the Highlanders and New Zealand Rugby. The back-rower last pulled on the All Blacks jersey in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final before heading to Japan, enjoying a spell with Toshiba Brave Lupus.
Anton Segner is also back in the mix after his Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour was cut short by injury, while Ethan Blackadder has retained a spot after being overlooked for the Test squad until the final clash with the Boks.
The team features just one uncapped international in first-five Josh Jacomb, who donned the black jersey in two tour matches in South Africa.
The backline options are largely the same as those who played the Test matches against South Africa, with Cam Roigard and Kyle Preston among the scrum-halves, along with the fit-again Cortez Ratima. Interestingly, New Zealand Rugby have listed Jacomb and Richie Mo’unga as the two fly-halves in the squad, with Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett named among the outside backs.
Will Jordan, Josh Moorby, Leroy Carter and Fehi Fineanganofo have all survived the chop, with midfield options being Jordie Barrett, Quinn Tupaea, Timoci Tavatavanawai and Rieko Ioane.
Up front, Sam Darry is the lock who makes way to accommodate Scott Barrett’s return while Josh Lord, Fabian Holland and Tupou Vaa’i are retained. Frizell, Segner, and Blackadder are joined by Simon Parker, Peter Lakai and Wallace Sititi.
Rennie has backed the same collective of prop forwards that toured South Africa in the form of Ethan de Groot, George Bower, Xavier Numia, Tyrel Lomax, Fletcher Newell and Pasilio Tosi, with the same true for hookers Taylor, Asafo Aumua and Samisoni Taukei’aho.
Players backed to overcome RGR failures
Let’s start there. The scrum was an issue for the All Blacks against South Africa; there is no two ways about it. As much as Rennie and Barnes want to cry about illegalities and not being on the same page as World Rugby when it comes to the set-piece, they simply didn’t match the Boks often enough there, and it was costly.
Australia’s scrum held firm against a second-string Bok front-row but crumbled late into the second-half when reduced to seven in the scrum, and even with the absence of Taniela Tupou, the Wallabies pose a threat in the set-piece.
The All Blacks haven’t made any prop personnel changes for the Bledisloe Cup Tests, meaning the coaching team believes that the current crop can turn things around, there aren’t any better options, or perhaps worst of all, they don’t think it’s that important.
Another facet where the All Blacks were outplayed against the Springboks hasn’t been addressed through selection, and that is the aerial game. Moorby, Jordan, McKenzie and Carter were regular features during the Test series and have all been retained whilst Emoni Narawa is omitted.
Much was made about the tactic of running back to catch the high ball, instead of running onto the ball, a ploy that the Boks exploited in the latter three Tests. Again, Rennie and his staff clearly think this isn’t a personnel issue, but they will clearly need to address this shortcoming whether it be through a shift in tactics or a training ground work-on.
Much of Australia’s success came through bossing the air against the Boks, and if they are able to produce a similar performance at Eden Park, that 1996 unbeaten streak is under serious threat.
There is an element of risk here from the All Blacks in backing the players to overcome the failures of the last three Test matches, but it is a ploy that can inspire the group too.
Back-row litmus Test
Rennie was forced to re-jig his loose trio for Test Four against the Springboks following the injuries to Jacobson and Savea, with Vaa’i, Blackadder and Lakai starting the game. The trio fared relatively well in fairness, with Blackadder being the standout performer, but this squad selection allows room for Rennie to tinker.
The number six jersey has been where the All Blacks have trialled players this year, and that is bound to continue with Shannon Frizell’s return. He was the go-to choice during the 2023 Rugby World Cup and will be eager to reclaim that position. However, a fit-again Scott Barrett creates another headache.
Barrett was used on the side at scrum earlier in his international career, and while one can question whether he still has the legs capable of doing so again, his pedigree as a world-class lock cannot be doubted. If he is thrown right back into the second-row, probably alongside Holland, it would allow for Vaa’i to continue on the side of the scrum.
But we cannot forget about Anton Segner, as the German-born back-rower was making a strong case to be in the All Blacks Test team before his injury. He could easily slot into any of the starting back-row roles or fill a spot on the bench.
Regardless of who Rennie picks, he will learn a lot about the loose forwards without his two favoured men in the back-row. Australia possess not only a heavyweight loose trio but settled internationals in Rob Valetini, Harry Wilson and Fraser McReight, with Carlo Tizzano almost in the same bracket too.
With 51 Test caps, Vaa’i is the most experienced of the loose forwards, though he has been listed as a lock, with Frizell boasting 33 Tests. As for the Wallabies, Valetini boasts 69 caps, McReight 47, Wilson 43 and Tizzano 17.
Big captaincy call
“Codie is a top man who has huge mana. His leadership as Tour Captain was important for us during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, so we know he will do an outstanding job in Ardie’s absence,” Rennie said on the decision to name Taylor as captain in the absence of Savea.
It’s an intriguing decision given the return of Barrett, perhaps not putting too much pressure on the returning lock, but the head coach did have another option in Jordie Barrett, the standout candidate.
The centre will surely start both matches against the Wallabies and has been a vice-captain of the All Blacks for some time now without taking on the main gig. Barrett will also play the full 80 minutes if he starts, which won’t be the case for Taylor.
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The 29-year-old was also co-captain of the Hurricanes this season, leading the side to a first Super Rugby Pacific title since 2016, and handing him the captaincy now could be a great learning opportunity for him leading up to the World Cup.
Frankly, the options are few and far between outside the Barretts and Taylor, and perhaps that’s why the coaching team have given the honour to the second-most experienced player in the squad, but it still feels like an opportunity gone begging.
Richie Mo’unga’s opportunity
Ruben Love’s injury has swung the door wide open for Richie Mo’unga to re-establish himself as the All Blacks’ first-choice number ten.
If he starts both of the matches against Australia, it would mean a hat-trick of run-on appearances in the black jersey after he returned to international rugby in Baltimore. He does have stiff competition in Damian McKenzie, Beauden Barrett and Josh Jacomb, but squad movements suggest that he is slightly ahead of the rest right now.
Barrett was released to feature in the NPC for Taranaki whilst Jacomb didn’t even travel with the All Blacks to the USA. As for McKenzie, he has exclusively started at full-back this year.
Rennie stated during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour that Love is the first-choice first-five for the All Blacks, but Mo’unga has the chance to change that now in the Hurricanes man’s absence.