All Blacks squad: Winners and losers as Rugby World Cup winner ‘rewarded’ while back-row star’s omission one of ‘the biggest shocks’
All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor and openside flanker Du'Plessis Kirifi (inset).
Following the announcement of the All Blacks’ 44-man squad for their eagerly anticipated Greatest Rivalry tour to South Africa, we select our winners and losers.
New Zealand will head out to South Africa in early August with the All Blacks taking on all four of the United Rugby Championship sides ahead of three clashes with the Springboks in Johannesburg (twice) and Cape Town before Baltimore in the USA hosts the fourth and final Test on September 12.
The All Blacks will kick off their Greatest Rivalry tour with a match against the Stormers at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Friday, August 7.
So, without further ado, here are our winners and losers from Dave Rennie‘s All Blacks squad.
Winners
Uncapped trio
The big news from Rennie’s squad announcement was the inclusion of the uncapped trio of Siale Lauaki, Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa and Josh Jacomb. Lauaki played most of the season off the replacements bench for the Hurricanes but the front-row delivered several impressive performances for the Wellington-based outfit during their triumphant Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
Although he was not a first-choice player for the Hurricanes, Lauaki’s ability to pack down on both sides of the scrum made him a regular in his club’s matchday 23 and that versatility should come in handy for New Zealand against the South African franchises.
At the age of 22, Tupou Ta’eiloa is the youngest of the aforementioned trio and, like Lauaki, his inclusion in the touring group is a surprising one as he was part of a struggling Moana Pasifika outfit which finished bottom of Super Rugby Pacific’s standings at the completion of the regular season.
Despite that, the young back-rower was arguably the now defunct team’s best player as he came to the fore with several outstanding all-round performances. He was one of the tournament’s leading attackers as he finished 10th highest for carries (147) and in sixth position for defenders beaten (45) during the season.
Renowned as a hard running ball carrier who likes the physical nature of the game, Tupou Ta’eiloa will be relishing the prospect of going up against South African opposition who seldom take a backward step in contact.
Meanwhile, Jacomb’s inclusion is a fitting reward after he delivered numerous superb displays for the Chiefs during their run to this year’s Super Rugby Pacific final where they finished as runners-up to the Hurricanes.
The 25-year-old fly-half is highly rated in New Zealand as he possesses an excellent skill set and is also capable of slotting in at full-back if required. With Ruben Love, Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett ahead of him in the fly-half queue, Jacomb, like Lauaki and Tupou Ta’eiloa, will be expected to do duty in the All Blacks’ midweek team on the Greatest Rivalry tour.
Fabian Holland
After missing the Highlanders’ entire Super Rugby Pacific campaign and the All Blacks’ recent Nations Championship Tests against France, Italy and Ireland due to a serious shoulder injury, Holland has made a full recovery and is back in action.
The behemoth second-row made his comeback last Friday for Otago during a one-sided 78-14 victory over Mid-Canterbury in a Ranfurly Shield clash and although he only played during the first 40 minutes of that clash, it was enough game time for Rennie to include him in his All Blacks squad.
That is not surprising as Dutch-born Holland established himself as one of the world’s leading locks in 2025. After making his debut against France in Dunedin last year, he went on to make 12 appearances at Test level of which 10 were starts and his excellent form was rewarded when he was crowned as 2025’s World Rugby breakthrough player of the year.
Recalled quintet
After winning all those recent Nations Championship Tests, Rennie has increased the number of players in his squad to 44 and amongst those added to his group are George Bell, Ollie Norris, Ethan Blackadder, Timoci Tavatavanawai and Emoni Narawa.
Bell (hooker) and Norris (loosehead prop) are two hard-working front-rowers who are solid in the execution of their core duties while Blackadder (loose forward) is a dynamic player with lots of experience which will come in handy on what is expected to be an arduous tour.
Blackadder was one of the Crusaders’ best players for several seasons now and with 14 Test caps under his belt, he is the most experienced player of this quintet. However, his All Blacks career has been wracked by injuries and if he can stay fit during this tour, don’t be surprised if he makes a return to the matchday squad for the Tests against the Boks.
Meanwhile, Tavatavanawai (centre) and Narawa (wing) are two exciting backline players who have impressed at Super Rugby level in recent years and although the Fijian-born duo only have a handful of All Blacks caps between them, both have the ability to change the course of a match with moments of attacking brilliance.
Ardie Savea
After leading from the front during the All Blacks’ recent Nations Championship Tests, Savea receives a long overdue break which means he will not be with the squad during the opening weeks of the South African tour. Rennie revealed that it was decided to rest his skipper as he has effectively been playing non-stop since January 2025 without receiving a proper break.
It means that the 32-year-old loose forward will miss New Zealand’s opening fixtures in South Africa against the Stormers and Sharks respectively, and it’s unlikely that he will be in action against the Bulls as well as that match is set to take place three days after his arrival.
The decision to rest Savea could be a masterstroke as a refreshed No.8 will be crucial to the All Blacks’ cause in what his expected to be a closely contested Test series against the Springboks.
Codie Taylor
With Savea being rested, Rennie has confirmed that veteran hooker Taylor has been rewarded with New Zealand’s captaincy during the early stages of the tour.
That is a shrewd call as, alongside Beauden Barrett and Savea, Taylor is one of the most experienced players in the All Blacks’ ranks who has represented his country in more than a 100 Tests since making his international debut 11 years ago.
Although he has not skippered the All Blacks at Test level yet, the 2015 Rugby World Cup winner is no stranger to captaincy as he has served in that capacity during triumphant Super Rugby campaigns at club level with the Crusaders.
Taylor is currently sidelined after sustaining an injury in the Nations Championship win over Ireland in Auckland, but Rennie revealed that he expects the 35-year-old to be in action in one of the three opening matches against the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls.
Rieko Ioane
The experienced outside back was a notable omission from Rennie’s original 34-man squad for the Nations Championship but was called up as injury cover ahead of their Test against Ireland in Auckland. Although he failed to crack a nod for the matchday squad for that Test, his services have been retained in Rennie’s extended group for the Greatest Rivalry series.
Despite falling down the pecking order amongst the All Blacks’ outside backs, the 29-year-old is one of the most experienced players in the squad and that should come in handy on what is expected to be a gruelling tour.
Ioane recently returned from a six-month sabbatical at Leinster where he hit his straps during the latter stages of his stint with the Irish province. He will be determined to transform that form to the international arena.
Leroy Carter
After making his international debut last year, Carter continued to impress for the Chiefs at Super Rugby Pacific level in 2026 and was part of the All Blacks’ squad during their recent Nations Championship Tests.
He was in action during their second Test against Italy in Wellington and showed his class with some superb touches on attack before being forced off the field during the latter stages of the opening half with a shoulder injury.
That meant he was unavailable for selection when New Zealand faced Ireland in the Auckland. However, the former All Blacks sevens representative is set to be fit for the Springboks Tests and Rennie revealed that Carter could also be considered as a back-up scrum-half which would come in handy if they want to go with a 6-2 split on their replacements bench.
With several outstanding outside backs in their ranks, competition for places in New Zealand’s matchday squad for the Tests will be fierce and Carter’s extra string to his bow could be useful when Rennie has some difficult selection decisions to make for those clashes with the Springboks.
Losers
Snubbed back-row trio
Judging from the loose forwards selected in Rennie’s squad for the Greatest Rivalry series, there were always going to be some disappointed players as New Zealand are blessed with a plethora of talented back-rowers in their ranks.
Amongst those are the likes of Du’Plessis Kirifi, Christian Lio-Willie and Lucas Casey who have all delivered impressive performances at club level during the season. Kirifi’s omission is among the biggest shocks as he was at the forefront of the Hurricanes’ victorious Super Rugby Pacific campaign and delivered several outstanding performances for the men from Wellington.
However, he is an out-and-out openside flanker and Rennie has revealed that with the likes of Savea, Anton Segner, Luke Jacobson and Peter Lakai all capable of playing in that position, Kirifi’s services were not required. Adding to that, with those other aforementioned players all capable of playing in other back-row positions as well, Kirifi’s lack of versatility might have counted against him.
Meanwhile, Lio-Willie can also consider himself unlucky as the two-Test All Black was in excellent form for Crusaders at Super Rugby Pacific level. However, All Blacks skipper Savea is the men in black’s first choice number eight with players like Jacobson, Lakai, Wallace Sititi and Simon Parker also excellent options for that position which means there is no place for him in Rennie’s squad after he also missed out on selection for the Nations Championship.
Casey is the only uncapped player of this trio and tipped by several pundits in New Zealand to be a surprise inclusion in the All Blacks squad. This was after he was one of the Highlanders’ shining lights during an underwhelming Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
The 23-year-old, who is equally adept at number eight or on the openside flank, caught the eye with fine individual efforts in both those positions but with other more experienced players offering similar qualities, his services were deemed surplus to requirements.
Ofa Tu’ungafasi
With 68 Test caps to his name and capable of packing down on either side of the scrum, the experienced All Black must have fancied his chances of making a Test comeback but it wasn’t to be as Rennie opted for younger front-rowers like Lauaki and Ollie Norris to join his core group of props who were part of his Nations Championship squad.
Tu’ungafasi last played for the All Blacks in 2024 as he spent most of the 2025 season on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on a serious neck injury.
He spent 10 months out and eventually returned to action for the Blues in Super Rugby Pacific. Although he delivered some solid performances for the Auckland-based franchise, it was not good enough to earn an All Blacks recall.
Jamie Hannah
The 23-year-old is one of the unluckiest players to miss out on a call-up as he was one of the Crusaders’ star performers during their run to Super Rugby Pacific’s semi-finals. With the vastly experienced Barrett not in action, Hannah was at the forefront of the Christchurch-based outfit’s forward effort and he delivered numerous excellent all-round performances.
The hard-working second-row was a valuable source of lineout possession and won the second most balls (64) in Super Rugby while he also finished in sixth position for tackles made (179) during the season.
His excellent Super Rugby form was rewarded with a call-up to the All Blacks squad and he made his Test debut in the Nations Championship clash with France. He was a late inclusion in the matchday squad for that encounter after Patrick Tuipulotu was a last-minute withdrawal due to a tight calf.
Hannah eventually made a 12-minute appearance off the bench during the latter stages of that Test and impressed during his time on the field. With Holland now back in action, and Tuipulotu, Tupou Vaa’i, Josh Lord and Sam Darry all proven internationals and more experienced than Hannah, he misses out on selection but showed during his brief cameo against Les Bleus that he can do a job at Test level.
Noah Hotham
After being a regular in former All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson’s squads, the 23-year-old scrum-half has failed to get a look-in at international level since Rennie took over the coaching reins.
With Cam Roigard firmly established as New Zealand’s leading number nine and Cortez Ratima next in line as his back-up, it was a straight shootout between the Crusaders duo Hotham and Kyle Preston as the All Blacks’ third choice scrum-half.
Preston got the nod during the Rugby Championship and although he did not receive game time in those Tests against France, Italy and Ireland, Rennie has retained his services. That means Hotham stint out in the cold continues and he will not be adding to his three Test caps anytime soon.
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Injured trio
Crusaders stalwarts Scott Barrett, Leicester Fainga’anuku and Tamaiti Williams will miss out on the eagerly anticipated tour due to injury with the former ruled with a back injury Fainga’anuku sidelined due to a lower leg fracture and the latter sidelined after suffering a serious spinal infection. Barrett, who was the All Blacks skipper under former boss Robertson, had an operation to correct a troublesome issue he picked after returning to training following a non-playing sabbatical.
Initially, the 32-year-old lock decided to take a break and miss most of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season in order to correct ankle and Achilles problems. However, he subsequently missed New Zealand’s recent Nations Championship Tests and will now sit out the whole of the South Africa tour.
Meanwhile, hybrid player Fainga’anuku has been ruled out for three months after suffering a broken leg while playing for the Crusaders in last month’s Super Rugby Pacific semi-final defeat to the Chiefs. His absence will be a setback for the All Blacks as he delivered several outstanding performances for the Crusaders since making the switch from the backline where he shone on the openside flank.
Prior to his unfortunate injury, Rennie said he was impressed with the way which Fainga’anuku had transitioned into his new role and felt the 26-year-old’s versatility could be an asset for the All Blacks in the international arena.
Williams’ absence from the touring party is also a massive blow as the 25-year-old had established himself as the All Blacks’ first choice loosehead prop last year.
His spinal infection ruled him out of the bulk of the Crusaders’ Super Rugby Pacific campaign and now it looks like it’s going to be a similar story at international level where he has been one of the most improved front-rowers in recent years.
