Rennie instead surprised everyone with the composition of his loose forwards \u2013 and a positional switch for Will Jordan. <\/p>\n
Rennie moved new captain Ardie Savea from openside to No 8. Peter Lakai will start his first professional match at blindside after starring for the Hurricanes \u2013 and impressing for the All Blacks last November \u2013 at the back of the scrum. <\/p>\n
Chiefs captain Luke Jacobson is the flashpoint selection, though. <\/p>\n
Luke Jacobson is the flashpoint selection in Dave Rennie’s first matchday squad. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n
Rennie and forwards selector Neil Barnes have promoted Jacobson, considered by many a somewhat marginal squad selection, to openside flanker. <\/p>\n
While he featured there for the Chiefs this season, Jacobson is not a traditional pilfering New Zealand openside. His strength lies in his defensive combativeness and work rate, which Rennie believes best complements Lakai and Savea for the abrasive French pack.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just numbers on the back for me,\u201d Rennie said of his new-look loose forward trio. \u201cWe like Luke. He\u2019s tough. He will have a real physical presence against the French and we think that\u2019s really important. Peter and Ardie give us a post-tackle presence but they are excellent athletes who suit our type of game. It was the area we discussed most around combinations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jacobson\u2019s selection relegates Chiefs teammate Wallace Sititi to provide impact from the bench, and Anton Segner to wait at least another week for his test debut.<\/p>\n
The other notable talking point is in the back three, where Rennie signalled his intentions to play Will Jordan on the wing rather than fullback, where he featured for the past two years and previously spoke openly about that being his preference. <\/p>\n
McKenzie endured a horror Super Rugby final for the Chiefs from first five-eighths, but he produced his best rugby for the All Blacks from fullback last year, with his bravery in the air coming to the fore. That\u2019s where he will start Rennie\u2019s tenure, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe two best fullbacks in the world on the field at the same time,\u201d Rennie said.<\/p>\n
Will Jordan will start on the right wing for the All Blacks against France. Photo \/ Anna Heath<\/p>\n
Jordan\u2019s switch to the right edge leaves Super Rugby\u2019s joint single-season record try scorer Fehi Fineanganofo to debut from the bench alongside Hurricanes prop Xavier Numia. <\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke to Will a couple of months ago when I was down here with the Crusaders about fullback versus wing. He said a couple of years ago he would have always said fullback, now he\u2019s happy with either,\u201d Rennie explained, while suggesting later in the match McKenzie will switch to first five and Jordan to fullback.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe type of game we\u2019ll play he\u2019ll get his hands on the ball a lot. Having a couple of guys in the backfield with that skill set, great aerially, great kicking games, optimistic and will have a crack when it\u2019s on, is really exciting for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Four Hurricanes in the starting team is light given their untouchable championship run, but no one could accuse Rennie of starting his tenure with any form of nervous conservatism that dogged the previous regime. <\/p>\n
That stance extends to backing Love to transfer his hot form to the test scene. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s too early to state Love seizing the No 10 jersey is a definitive change of the playmaking guard. Richie Mo\u2019unga is, after all, waiting in the wings to satisfy eligibility criteria before his recall to the All Blacks.<\/p>\n
Rennie has, though, entrusted Love to capitalise on his confidence with his maiden start for the All Blacks at first five \u2013 in his sixth test match appearance.<\/p>\n
Inexperience, be damned. Love\u2019s freedom of expression must be harnessed. <\/p>\n
Ruben Love has been rewarded for his Super Rugby Pacific form with a start in the All Blacks’ No 10 jersey. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was outstanding. I\u2019m sure there won\u2019t be too many arguments about that selection. He sits in among Cam [Roigard] and Jordie [Barrett] which will give him a lot of comfort, combination and communication. He\u2019s really confident, clear. He\u2019s spent a lot of time with Mike [Blair]. His ability even running things in meetings has been really impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Love\u2019s promotion dictates that McKenzie or Barrett would miss selection. <\/p>\n
Barrett\u2019s omission is notable, therefore, after he largely led the All Blacks from No 10 in Scott Robertson\u2019s two-year tenure. The centurion did, however, arrive at this test campaign after an underwhelming season with the Blues.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been so impressed with Beauden. I haven\u2019t coached him before. His contribution has been massive. He\u2019s come in; he\u2019s training really well. To have someone of that quality sitting in the wings, it shows how strong we are in that position.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tupou Vaa\u2019i\u2019s absence through concussion thrusts Sam Darry into start alongside Josh Lord, which tests the All Blacks locking depth while Fabian Holland and Scott Barrett work their way back from injury.<\/p>\n
Rennie also unveiled serious bench power underpinned by the all-Hurricanes\u2019 front row of Numia, Asafo Aumua and Tyrel Lomax alongside fellow forwards Sititi and Patrick Tuipulotu. <\/p>\n
While the French land in New Zealand under familiar frustrating circumstances \u2013 missing eight Top 14 finalists \u2013 Rennie expects their heavy influence from European champions Bordeaux, with eight players in their starting side, to ensure they challenge through their contestable kicking, ball movement, offloading and physical strengths.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe French have 28 professional teams, and they have the best competition in the world. They\u2019ve got so much depth. Whoever they put out there will be a quality side.\u201d <\/p>\n
All Blacks team to play France: 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor, 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Josh Lord, 5. Sam Darry, 6. Peter Lakai, 7. Luke Jacobson, 8. Ardie Savea (c), 9. Cam Roigard, 10. Ruben Love, 11. Caleb Clarke, 12. Jordie Barrett, 13. Quinn Tupaea, 14. Will Jordan, 15. Damian McKenzie<\/p>\n
Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua, 17. Xavier Numia, 18. Tyrel Lomax, 19. Patrick Tuipulotu, 20. Wallace Sititi, 21. Cortez Ratima, 22. Billy Proctor, 23. Fehi Fineanganofo<\/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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rennie instead surprised everyone with the composition of his loose forwards \u2013 and a positional switch for Will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":506772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[251216,5263,95,8136,32131,89438,9635,2082,1221,11775,111,139,69,20248,138234,1534,242535,71299,213,1557,810,102],"class_list":["post-506771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-705pm","tag-all","tag-and","tag-blacks","tag-bold","tag-brave","tag-dave","tag-for","tag-france","tag-french","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-opener","tag-rennie","tag-saturday","tag-selections","tag-shakes","tag-sports","tag-squad","tag-up","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=506771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/506771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=506771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=506771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=506771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}