All Blacks team: Winners and losers as Dave Rennie reveals his ‘blueprint’ following ‘boldest’ selection call
Ruben Love in action for the All Blacks and Chiefs flanker Luke Jacobson.
Following the announcement of the All Blacks team to face France in the Nations Championship on Saturday, here are our winners and losers from Dave Rennie’s selections.
Winners
The first 23 that gets a crack
The waiting is over and Rennie has selected the 23 players that will play their first match under his stewardship. Based on Super Rugby Pacific form, the performances in training and the preferences of the coaches, these are the ones that have been trusted this weekend and gives an indication of what the new boss is looking for in those that take to the field.
Ruben Love and Damian McKenzie
An obvious starting point given the debate around the fly-half battle and, as expected, the in-form Hurricane deservedly gets the nod in the 10 jersey. Interestingly, McKenzie has also been picked, despite Will Jordan, who starts on the wing, also being available and those two playmakers will dovetail in attack. Jordie Barrett also offers a creative option at 12 which gives them plenty of eyes around the field when they have the ball.
Two debutants
Congratulations to Xavier Numia and Fehi Fineanganofo, the two rookies who have been named in the 23. Perhaps slightly surprisingly, there are no debutants in the starting XV, with Rennie preferring to ease them in, but they will get an opportunity to show their quality off the bench.
Fineanganofo has been in sparkling form for the ‘Canes this year, becoming a record-breaker by scoring 17 tries, surpassing the one season record of 16, while Numia has been similarly impressive for the Wellington outfit. He is a dynamic prop that has improved his scrummaging significantly to come into contention.
Quinn Tupaea
Rennie could have opted for Billy Proctor and had that Hurricanes connection through half-back and in the midfield, but we think he is right to go for Tupaea at 13. While he doesn’t play there for the Chiefs, the 27-year-old performed well in that position against the Wallabies in Perth last year where it just seemed to click between him and Jordie Barrett.
Luke Jacobson
Possibly the boldest call from Rennie, with the All Blacks boss picking a loose forward trio no one really expected. Captain Ardie Savea was meant to be in the seven shirt in most people’s eyes but he has reverted back to number eight. If it wasn’t Savea there, maybe Peter Lakai or newbie Anton Segner would be given a go? But no, a player many have overlooked, Jacobson, has been given a shot.
With Savea at the base of the scrum and Lakai at blindside, they needed a taller option at seven to give them an extra lineout option and Jacobson offers that. He is also probably the best of the back-row in doing the nuts and bolts around the breakdown, and his relentlessness in that area is the head coach’s blueprint.
Peter Lakai
The aforementioned Hurricane gets into the side, but not as a number eight or openside. Instead, he will wear six for the first time in his professional career, but his role will ultimately be similar to what we saw last year under Scott Robertson.
With ruck inspector Jacobson on hand, he will be free to roam and carry, and make consistent impacts both with and without the ball. It would have been a choice between Lakai and Wallace Sititi, but Rennie has ultimately opted for the former and it will be interesting to see how he goes.
Sam Darry
With Tupou Vaa’i still struggling with concussion, Darry was the most logical selection alongside Josh Lord at lock. After missing the whole of the 2025 Super Rugby season, he made up for lost time in 2026 with a fantastic campaign.
The 25-year-old duly deserves his spot in the XV this weekend. Darry has looked physical in contact all season but he is also an excellent lineout jumper and is duly a superb all-round second-row. With Scott Barrett and Vaa’i out, however, their replacements will be under pressure to perform.
Fletcher Newell
Had a good Test season in 2025 but you wonder whether he would have been picked had Pasilio Tosi been properly considered. It is stated that the powerhouse Hurricane has been suffering from a niggle, which made it a choice between Newell and Tyrel Lomax.
With Asafo Aumua and Numia among the replacements, it made sense to have Lomax alongside them on the bench due to the ‘Canes connection, which means the Crusader gets a start. He has been a consistent performer in Christchurch without being absolutely stellar so he needs to perform to keep his place for the next couple of weeks.
Losers
Beauden Barrett
It seems strange to see an All Blacks 23 without the Test centurion in it, but at the same time it is not entirely surprising. While some quite rightly stated that Barrett’s dip in form was not completely his fault given the Blues’ struggles, he is still not playing nearly as well as McKenzie or Love.
To omit one of those two would have therefore been hugely controversial and unfair judging by what has played out in Super Rugby this year. The experienced playmaker will surely be back at some point, potentially against Italy next weekend, and when he does feature, it will give us a better indication of where his game truly stands.
Simon Parker
Rennie needed a lump in the loose trio to complement Lakai and Savea, and we genuinely thought Parker would be in the conversation, but the All Blacks have ultimately opted for Jacobson.
Parker isn’t quite as effective at slowing down opposition ball at the breakdown, but he is better in the lineout and a more powerful carrier at close quarters, but the 26-year-old has been overlooked for his Chiefs team-mate.
Rennie also mentioned a couple of players had niggles, with Tosi being one, but he did not divulge the other and Parker could have been that player, but we are not necessarily convinced and simply reckon the head coach preferred Jacobson.
Anton Segner
If there was someone to miss out due to a slight knock, it was probably the Blues flanker. All the noises coming out of the All Blacks camp about Segner were incredibly positive and the suggestion was that he was going to feature this weekend, but he has not been named in the 23.
Whatever that reason is, we don’t think it will be too long before the back-rower gets a chance in the squad, whether starting or off the bench. Like Jacobson, he is fantastic at close quarters thanks to his outstanding work ethic and in the lineout, but he has offered a bit more around the field.
Wallace Sititi
The gifted back-rower has at least been named in the squad and he is an excellent impact option off the bench, but it is a surprise that Sititi does not start. Concussion ruled him out of the Super Rugby semi and final, but he was in incredible form before that.
With Savea starting at eight, that took one slot away from him, but he could have easily slotted in at blindside, like he did so brilliantly in his breakout season for the All Blacks in 2024. However, Lakai gets the nod and Sititi will have to wait for his opportunity later in the game.
Kyle Preston
His selection for the wider training squad caught many off-guard but it made absolute sense to us with Rennie looking for an effective back-up to guaranteed starter Cam Roigard. Given that Preston has played that role so well for the Crusaders in 2026, coming off the bench to either close out the game or inspire a comeback, we expected him to do that for the national team this weekend.
Cortez Ratima has been given the chance, however, despite having an abysmal year for the Chiefs. He has been second choice behind Xavier Roe for much of the campaign and, in truth, has not played particularly well when on the field. His skills, particularly around box-kicking, do not appear to have improved and Preston simply offers a more rounded game at this point, so it is shock to see Ratima there.
Pasilio Tosi
As already mentioned, the tighthead has suffered a slight injury so misses out this week, but it surely won’t be long before he is regularly selected in the 23. The only downside for Tosi is with him out of the equation for the France clash, it gives Newell the chance to nail down his place, which could impact his Test selection going forward.
Samisoni Taukei’aho
It was close between the two powerhouse hookers but Aumua edged it and probably rightly so given that fellow Hurricanes front-rowers Numia and Lomax are also on the bench. It is not a slight on Taukei’aho, who has once again been outstanding for the Chiefs this season, but it is no less disappointing for the 28-year-old.
Leroy Carter and Josh Moorby
Moorby is the only other rookie we haven’t mentioned so far, but he also misses out on selection. Again, Italy might be the game for him, and it is completely understandable that for this clash Rennie prefers the world-class qualities of Jordan.
As for Carter, he has only just returned from injury, so will simply be thankful to be included in the wider training squad, but he was their first choice wing for much of the second half of last season. He will therefore have to work his way back up the pecking order once more.
Anton Lienert-Brown
Has worked with Rennie throughout the campaign at Kobe Steelers and that’s probably what convinced the head coach to include him in the initial 34. But once there, given that Lienert-Brown covers both centre positions, he immediately became a possibility for a bench spot. Proctor has edged him, though, with Tupaea providing that midfield versatility should Jordie Barrett be forced off.