All Blacks boss Dave Rennie has made a few alterations for Test Three against the Springboks, with Peter Lakai getting a first start in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.
Lakai has come off the bench in the previous two encounters, but he gets a chance at blindside flanker after Simon Parker was omitted from the 23.
Luke Jacobson continues at openside despite battling with flu in the build-up to the encounter, while Wallace Sititi is on the bench alongside, rather surprisingly, the dropped Fabian Holland, who has impressed in both Tests.
Milestone for key forward
Parker misses out despite Rennie opting to keep Tupou Vaa’i, who earns his 50th cap, away from the loose trio with the Chiefs star in the number four jersey.
There is still no Josh Lord, who suffered a head injury at Ellis Park, and as a result Sam Darry finally gets an opportunity alongside Vaa’i in the second-row.
Darry was outstanding in the opening two Tests of the year against France and Italy, but missed out on the next three internationals.
Like Lord, Ethan de Groot, who was also involved in that clash of heads two weeks ago, is not included for the third contest.
George Bower therefore retains his place at loosehead and is once again joined by Tyrel Lomax at tighthead, but there is a new name at hooker with Asafo Aumua getting a start with Codie Taylor rested. Samisoni Taukei’aho is the impact replacement in that position this weekend.
Ardie Savea continues to captain the side from number eight and he forms an eight-nine combination with scrum-half Cam Roigard.
Backline unchanged
Ruben Love retains his spot at 10 despite a subpar display against the Springboks at DHL Stadium, with the All Blacks boss opting not to bring Richie Mo’unga into the squad as the backline remains unchanged.
Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea are the midfield duo with Damian McKenzie, Will Jordan and Leroy Carter the back three partnership.
Meanwhile, on the bench, De Groot’s absence means Xavier Numia is among the replacements, where he is joined by Taukei’aho, Fletcher Newell, Holland and Sititi as the forward cover.
Rennie has kept the 5-3 split with Kyle Preston, Anton Lienert-Brown and Josh Moorby once again the three backline options as Rieko Ioane misses out.
“Tupes is a top man. It’ll be a special day for him and his family and additional motivation for us,” the head coach said. “With both teams heading into the third Test one apiece, there’s everything to play for on Saturday.
“The team that doesn’t win this weekend can’t win the series. That’s the kind of challenge we love to rise to. The team is feeling fresh after a full week’s lead-in to the game, and we can’t wait to put everything out on the park.”
All Blacks team to face the Springboks
All Blacks: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Leroy Carter, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Luke Jacobson, 6 Peter Lakai, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Tupou Vaa’i, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 George Bower
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Fabian Holland, 20 Wallace Sititi, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Josh Moorby
Date: Saturday, 5 September, 2026
Venue: FNB Stadium, Johannesburg
Kick-off: 17:10 (local SAST), 16:10 (UK), 17:10 (France), 17:10 (South Africa), 01:10 (6 September, AEST), 03:10 (6 September, New Zealand), 12:10 (Argentina), 00:10 (6 September, JST), 11:10 (EDT)
How to watch: Sky Sports (UK and Ireland), Sky Sport / Sky Sport Now (New Zealand), SuperSport (South Africa), Stan Sport / Nine Sport (Australia), RugbyPass TV (USA), Premier Sports (Canada), WOWOW (Japan), ESPN Sur (Central/South America and Caribbean)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner (Australia) and Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (France)
FPRO: Brett Cronan (Australia)
READ MORE: Top 10 full-backs in rugby: Springboks star in ‘form of his life’ ahead of ‘competitive animal’