All Blacks team: Dave Rennie loses front five duo to injury as changes made for Springboks rematch
Ardie Savea (left) will captain the All Blacks once again in Test Two v Springboks
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has made three changes to his Test starting XV to take on the Springboks this weekend at the DHL Stadium, Cape Town.
Elsewhere, Rennie has also promoted two fresh faces onto the bench, with both players backing up after featuring in their 41-35 win over the Lions on Tuesday.
The tourists head into Test Two still unbeaten on South African soil this tour, and lead the Test series 1-0 thanks to a 33-16 win over the Springboks last weekend.
Dave Rennie makes three changes to starting XV for Test Two
Rennie’s sole change in the backline comes out wide, with Leroy Carter promoted to the run-on group and Josh Moorby moving down to the bench. Elsewhere, though, Damian McKenzie starts at full-back, with Will Jordan joining Carter on the wings.
Quinn Tupaea and Jordie Barrett again form the midfield pairing, while Ruben Love and Cam Roigard keep their spots in the halves.
Ardie Savea again leads the All Blacks out from number eight, and he is once again joined by Luke Jacobson in the back-row. Simon Parker also gets the nod at blindside flank, with Tupou Vaa’i shifting over to lock in place of Josh Lord. Fabian Holland is his second-row partner this weekend.
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Tyrel Lomax and Codie Taylor also retain their spots in the front-row, with George Bower coming into the unit in place of Ethan de Groot.
Rennie has kept with a 5:3 split on his bench once again, with Asafo Aumua, Fletcher Newell, Peter Lakai, Kyle Preston and Anton Lienert-Brown retaining their places here. Xavier Numia and Patrick Tuipulotu also join them on the replacements list.
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Commenting on his squad, head coach Rennie said: “While we were happy with the win last week, I think both teams will be better this weekend.
“We’ve played four Tests this year and are still growing as a group. I’m really excited about the competition for places and the performances of the squad across the matches here in South Africa, and we’re really looking forward to this weekend.”
All Blacks team v Springboks in full
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 Simon Parker, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Fabian Holland, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 George Bower
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Josh Moorby
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Date: Saturday, 29 August, 2026
Kick-off: 17:10 (local SAST), 16:10 (UK), 17:10 (France), 17:10 (South Africa), 01:10 (23 August, AEST), 03:10 (23 August, New Zealand), 12:10 (Argentina), 00:10 (23 August, JST), 11:10 (EDT)
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Angus Gardner (RA)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)
FPRO: Brett Cronan (RA)
