All Blacks team: Five takeaways as Ardie Savea could force Scott Robertson into ‘big decision’
All Blacks back-rower Ardie Savea and head coach Scott Robertson.
Following the announcement of the All Blacks team for their Bledisloe Cup clash against the Wallabies, here are our five takeaways from Scott Robertson’s selections.
Keeping the faith (again)
The All Blacks boss has certainly been more willing to experiment in 2025, as evidenced by nine players making their debuts this year, but he has named a team which is not too dissimilar to the one that was humiliated in Wellington.
After their embarrassing loss to the Springboks, there are just four alterations with one of those enforced following the injury to captain Scott Barrett. That means Ardie Savea takes over the leadership role and he is once again joined in the back-row by Simon Parker and Wallace Sititi.
Fabian Holland partners Tupou Vaa’i at lock, while Codie Taylor and Cam Roigard are two injury-returnees at hooker and scrum-half respectively. It effectively means that there is just one tactical alteration and that comes in the back three with Caleb Clarke starting on the left wing, Leroy Carter moving to the right, Will Jordan at full-back and Damian McKenzie dropping to the bench.
Robertson is under a lot of pressure going into this clash and another defeat will obviously increase the burden on him, so it is interesting that he has offered the majority of those players another shot this weekend.
Bench impact
To a degree, you can understand keeping most of the starting line-up intact since they were very competitive for around 50 minutes, so it is among the replacements where the most significant changes take place.
Robertson will be delighted to have Taylor back in the front-row, partly due to his set-piece work but also because it enables him to select Samisoni Taukei’aho on the bench. Along with props Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell, they are a formidable front-row combination.
When you add in powerhouse lock Patrick Tuipulotu, who returns after injury, they are four players who can truly bolster that front five in the second period. Quite frankly, Brodie McAlister’s Test inexperience was exposed against the Boks, while Holland, given his remarkable engine, is more suited to starting than being on the bench.
Elsewhere, Peter Lakai finally gets an opportunity this season. Du’Plessis Kirifi has not done too much wrong but Lakai offers versatility, considering that he can cover six, seven or eight, and a bit more punch in that role.
Behind the scrum, Cortez Ratima comes in for Finlay Christie, which is not surprising but perhaps slightly harsh on the World Cup runner-up after he filled in nicely for Roigard and Ratima. He is joined by Quinn Tupaea and McKenzie as the backline replacements, with both players probably lucky to retain their places after underwhelming performances in Wellington.
However, overall, it is a much stronger 23 and one that should be able to keep their foot on the throat, unlike in the capital when it all went wrong in the second period.
Leadership debate
Barrett’s absence is of course enforced as a shoulder injury takes him out of contention for the Bledisloe Cup opener, but the captaincy debate may reach fever pitch should it all go well for stand-in Ardie Savea.
The leadership responsibility was a 50/50 call when Robertson took the job but his relationship with the second-row no doubt edged it his way. Some believe the head coach’s decision was a mistake, however, and watching Barrett over the past 15 months you can perhaps understand why.
Aside from his rather remarkable 80-minute performance at Eden Park, the Crusaders star hasn’t quite found the form everyone knows he is capable of. It is perhaps telling that he stepped down as skipper at the Christchurch outfit to ease his workload this year and, to paraphrase ex-All Blacks manager Darren Shand, international captaincy does appear to be weighing heavy on the experienced front five forward.
We’re not sure if changing skippers will necessarily lead to an improvement from both player and team, but it is getting to a point where Robertson may have to think about making a big decision and this weekend could well kickstart those conversations.
The aerial game
It has been a constant talking point in 2025 and, after their dreadful efforts under the high ball in Wellington, that only increased the frustration. Robertson has thus turned to Clarke, who enjoyed a breakout year in 2024 and is their best wing in the air. If he can’t solve their issues then there will be serious worries inside the All Blacks camp.
With him on the left, Carter shifting to the right and Jordan at 15, they have players that, on paper at least, are fine exponents of the aerial game. It certainly needs to be on point as the likes of Max Jorgensen, Harry Potter and particularly Joseph Suaalii are outstanding operators in that department and will seek to test their confidence under the high ball.
Australia are also strong in the lineout having dominated the Springboks in Johannesburg and, while New Zealand haven’t been quite as weak there, the visitors will attack the set-piece with a four, five, six of Nick Frost, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Tom Hooper respectively giving them plenty of jumping threats.
Interesting omissions
There is a feeling that few players are particularly safe from the axe but, considering the dreadful result last time out, it is intriguing to see some of those who haven’t made it in. Tupaea would certainly have been fearing for his position, with Rieko Ioane, Leicester Fainga’anuku and Anton Lienert-Brown all potential options for a bench spot at the very least.
Fainga’anuku’s time will surely come in the end-of-year series, however, even if All Blacks coaches hinted that he could have made his return this weekend. You just wonder whether New Zealand Rugby are standing firm over his inclusion, insisting that he can only come in should more injuries arise, as per the original policy.
As for the others, it is perhaps telling that Lienert-Brown has not come into the 23 and suggests Robertson is looking to develop Tupaea ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup and ease his experienced Chiefs team-mate out.
Equally, Ioane has dropped down the pecking order and will be worried about his Test prospects. He is in a better spot than Lienert-Brown but he will be reliant on either Clarke or Carter faltering in order to regain his place.
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