All Blacks team: Dave Rennie names two uncapped players for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry opener as fresh captaincy call made
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie (right) has named his 23-man squad to take on the Stormers
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has named his 23-man squad for the Greatest Rivalry opener against the Stormers, with two uncapped players included.
Prop forward Siale Lauaki and back Josh Jacomb look set to make their All Blacks debuts in Friday’s series opener in Cape Town, after getting the nod to feature off the bench.
Elsewhere, lock Patrick Tuipulotu will lead the side into battle this weekend, as Rennie begins his captaincy experiments in the absence of tour captain Ardie Savea.
Dave Rennie names two uncapped players for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry opener
The All Blacks boss has named a rotated side to take on the URC outfit on Friday night, with a number of changes from their Nations Championship win over Ireland.
Josh Moorby gets the nod at full-back, with Leory Carter and Rieko Ioane on the wings. Billy Proctor and Anton Lienert-Brown form the centre pairing, while Beauden Barrett and Cortez Ratima start in the halves.
Wallace Sititi, Peter Lakai and Simon Parker form the back-row, with skipper Tuipulotu starting alongside the returning Fabian Holland in the locks. Pasilo Tosi, Samisoni Taukei’aho and George Bower start in the front-row.
Rennie has opted for a 5:3 split on his bench, with the debutants joined by Asafo Aumua, Ollie Norris, Sam Darry, the returning Ethan Blackadder, Kyle Preston and Caleb Clarke.
Commenting on his selection, Rennie said: “Firstly, I want to congratulate the new All Blacks Siale and Josh. It will be a very exciting and proud day for them and their families.
“We’ve had a great welcome in Cape Town, and we’re excited to get this tour underway.
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“We are really pleased with how our leaders, including match-day captain Patrick and tour captain Codie, have prepared the group. We can’t wait for Friday.
“We’re well aware of how good this Stormers side is. They made the semi-finals of the United Rugby Championship last year and they are a big, physical side with a mix of talented youngsters and Springboks, so we are preparing for a real war of attrition.”
All Blacks team v Stormers in full
All Blacks: 15 Josh Moorby, 14 Leroy Carter, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Peter Lakai, 6 Simon Parker, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 4 Fabian Holland, 3 Pasilo Tosi, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 George Bower
Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ollie Norris, 18 Siale Lauaki, 19 Sam Darry, 20 Ethan Blackadder, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Josh Jacomb, 23 Caleb Clarke
Date: Friday, 7 August 2026
Venue: DHL Stadium, Cape Town
Kick-off: 19:00 (local SAST), 18:00 (UK), 19:00 (France), 03:00 (8 August, AEST), 05:00 (8 August, New Zealand), 14:00 (Argentina), 02:00 (8 August, JST), 13:00 (EDT)
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (RFU) and Hollie Davidson (SRU)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)
FPRO: Mike Adamson (SRU)
READ MORE: Loose Pass: Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour’s possible impact on the game’s medium-term future
