Cracking Rennie\u2019s test side for the Boks will be difficult but, in some instances, fine-line selection calls are evident. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s where the squeeze will come.<\/p>\n
Lock:<\/p>\n
Despite former captain Scott Barrett remaining out of the picture following back surgery<\/a> and Rennie pining to pick Brodie Retallick from Japan<\/a>, the All Blacks second-row stocks are in a healthy state.<\/p>\n Tupou Vaa\u2019i\u2019s continued switch from the second row to blindside to enhance the All Blacks\u2019 height at the lineout and size on the edge is expected to pave the way for three locks to start against the Boks.<\/p>\n Patrick Tuipulotu and Josh Lord are favoured to start <\/a> after impressing with their complementary combination against Ireland.<\/a><\/p>\n Fabian Holland, in his return from shoulder surgery, made an immediate impression with two telling lineout steals against the Stormers. <\/p>\n Holland\u2019s lineout prowess will be highly valued throughout the tour but from a game time and conditioning perspective, the first test might be too soon to throw him into the relentless physical furnace for the Boks.<\/p>\n Sam Darry has taken his chances with high-energy performances too.<\/a><\/p>\n Verdict: Tuipulotu and Lord <\/p>\n Left wing:<\/p>\n Possibly the most contestable position in the test side.<\/p>\n Josh Moorby has the inside running after swiftly rising through the ranks<\/a> from jointly claiming Super Rugby\u2019s individual try-scoring record with Hurricanes teammate Fehi Fineanganofo to his dynamic test debut off the bench in Wellington and usurping Caleb Clarke into the starting All Blacks back three against Ireland.<\/p>\n Fineanganofo and Clarke were among the All Blacks\u2019 best performers in difficult conditions against the underwhelming Sharks.<\/a> Both offer a power element Moorby does not possess but Rennie continues to speak highly of his anticipation, vision and decision-making.<\/p>\n Utilising three fullbacks in his back three \u2013 Damian McKenzie (provided he recovers from his ankle injury<\/a>), Will Jordan, who is nursing a back issue, and Moorby \u2013 also appeals to Rennie.<\/p>\n Verdict: Moorby<\/p>\n Halfback:<\/p>\n Roigard\u2019s withdrawal from the bench against the Sharks<\/a> sent a scare through All Blacks supporters.<\/p>\n As the All Blacks\u2019 most influential figure, Roigard was only ever going to play 20 minutes, at most, before the first test.<\/p>\n The All Blacks maintain protecting his calf was a precautionary measure but Roigard\u2019s deputy role must be up for grabs.<\/p>\n Forced to patiently wait for his chance, after not featuring in the three July tests, Kyle Preston staked his claim for that super sub role with a compelling performance against the Sharks<\/a> that included 91m of running, beating four defenders and a bagging try.<\/p>\n Preston expertly performed the impact role for the Crusaders this year behind Noah Hotham. Every time he entered the fray, the Crusaders\u2019 pace and tempo from the base significantly elevated.<\/p>\n With rotation set to continue this weekend, Cortez Ratima may partner Josh Jacomb in the All Blacks halves for the Bulls as Rennie intends to use different No 10s in the first three tour games.<\/p>\n Rennie rates Ratima but Preston is, surely, applying serious heat. <\/p>\n Verdict: Preston<\/p>\n Loose forwards:<\/p>\n Ardie Savea, Luke Jacobson<\/a> and Vaa\u2019i appear cemented as the starting trio for test one against the Boks.<\/p>\n Using Vaa\u2019i at blindside likely frees up two loose forward spots on the bench.<\/p>\n Peter Lakai should secure one of those after his standout efforts against the Stormers. <\/p>\n The other vacancy could be a tight call between Wallace Sititi and Anton Segner.<\/p>\n Sititi offers more attacking skill while Segner is a noted breakdown turnover threat<\/a>.<\/p>\n Performances against the Bulls, should they both feature, could prove telling.<\/p>\n Semisi Ta\u2019eiloa\u2019s damaging ball carrying<\/a> \u2013 he steamrolled two Sharks defenders on the charge while making his debut off the bench in Durban to underline his point of difference \u2013 could loom into the test frame later in the tour, too.<\/p>\n Verdict: Lakai and Sititi <\/p>\n Tighthead prop:<\/p>\n Tyrel Lomax or Fletcher Newell?<\/p>\n Lomax is expected to feature in his first match of the tour against the Bulls<\/a> after being held back with a niggling injury. <\/p>\n As the incumbent, and more skilful of the two with ball in hand, Lomax is likely to start against the Boks, but Newell\u2019s scrummaging strengths and unflappable character cannot be underestimated. <\/p>\n Verdict: Lomax <\/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":"Cracking Rennie\u2019s test side for the Boks will be difficult but, in some instances, fine-line selection calls are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[190,9092,5263,34595,9218,8136,58032,279214,9635,1888,231282,3191,50242,4277,103476,10543,32934,111,139,69,26809,10715,138234,17879,1240,213,7187,765,223,1961,208,810,3007,4767,1533,102],"class_list":["post-567089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-africa","tag-against","tag-all","tag-battles","tag-before","tag-blacks","tag-bulls","tag-contestable","tag-dave","tag-first","tag-firstchoice","tag-heat","tag-highly","tag-key","tag-maintain","tag-match","tag-navigate","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-pretoria","tag-remains","tag-rennie","tag-selection","tag-south","tag-sports","tag-team","tag-test","tag-the","tag-this","tag-tour","tag-up","tag-vs","tag-weekend","tag-will","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567089","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=567089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}