All Blacks team: Winners and losers including ‘puzzling’ Dave Rennie decision while ‘true legend’ is snubbed for Italy showdown
All Blacks Josh Moorby, Beauden Barrett and Quinn Tupaea
Following the announcement of Dave Rennie’s All Blacks team to face Italy at the Hnry Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.
It will be the 18th meeting between New Zealand and Italy but the first time that the two nations meet in Wellington. The All Blacks boast a perfect record against the Azzurri, who have beaten all other international opponents at least once.
Rennie has included 10 players who last featured in the All Blacks team that beat the Azzurri 29-11 in Turin in 2024. Without further ado, here are our winners and losers from the selections.
Winners
Debutants
Two new players will become All Blacks this weekend with head coach Rennie once again issuing debuts via the bench in German-born flanker Anton Segner and Hurricanes’ full-back Josh Moorby.
The new All Blacks boss insisted that he would be rewarding Super Rugby Pacific form with his selections this July and has duly stuck to his word with the latest additions to the matchday 23. Segner was a consistent standout performer throughout the season, particularly in the absence of Dalton Papali’i. An all-court loose forward, the back-rower is a real asset on the bench with his ability to play across the loose trio and provides a true lineout option too.
Meanwhile, Moorby was sensational throughout the Super Rugby Pacific season, running in 17 tries for the title-winners. He and Fehi Fineanganofo broke the record for the most tries in a single season, and after the latter earned his debut last week, it’s the former’s chance this time around.
The 27-year-old is another real prospect for the All Blacks both on the wing and at full-back and will be eager to make his mark in the second half.
Tupou Vaa’i
Straight back into the starting XV. Tupou Vaa’i missed the All Blacks’ opening game of the season due to concussion, but he slots right back into the run-on team despite the performances of Sam Darry and Josh Lord last weekend.
The 26-year-old earns his 45th cap on Saturday, and it’s a welcome return after he missed the end-of-year Tests in 2025 due to injury. Vaa’i has really started to come into his own at the international level, and that setback curtailed that development. He has continued to impress for the Chiefs this season and will be eager to stamp his mark on the All Blacks’ second row, especially with Scott Barrett and Fabian Holland sidelined.
Sam Darry
Darry took his opportunity last weekend against France and has been duly rewarded with back-to-back starts. The injury setbacks in the second row have given the Blues man the chance to move up the pecking order, and he will hope to further cement his status as he earns his 10th cap.
The 26-year-old has all the talent to be a regular fixture for the All Blacks going forward with an eye to the Rugby World Cup, but has stiff competition for the second row spots when Barrett and Holland do return. For the time being, though, the jersey is his.
Luke Jacobson
Luke Jacobson is another who is being rewarded for his performances, with the back-rower getting an extended run in the team. Rennie has resisted the urge to make wholesale changes for what Stephen Donald described as the All Blacks’ ‘easiest game of the year’ but is certainly repaying those who stepped up to the mark against France.
The Chiefs flanker was somewhat of a surprise selection in the number seven jersey last week, and whilst he started the match poorly, he recovered quickly to produce a fantastic overall performance. He now gets the opportunity to repeat that feat against what is a mighty Italian back-row.
Michele Lamaro, Ross Vintcent and Lorenzo Cannone might not be the most well-known loose forwards globally, but the trio are incredible athletes who could cause all kinds of havoc for the All Blacks, and Jacobson will need to be on top of his game again to limit their influence.
Hurricanes connections
Wellington has not been a happy hunting ground for the All Blacks in recent years, and Rennie has opted to back a large Hurricanes contingent to avoid the hoodoo repeating.
As mentioned above, Italy have never beaten the All Blacks, and Rennie has trusted the heroes of the 2026 Super Rugby season to get the job done in their own backyard. Most notably in the backs, with Cam Roigard and Ruben Love once again backed to star in the half-backs. The former was always going to feature, but the coaching team would have surely been tempted to make a change at fly-half considering the presence of Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie in the squad.
Where Rennie has made a change is in the centres, this time partnering Jordie Barrett with his Hurricanes’ teammate Billy Proctor in the midfield, with Quinn Tupaea dropping out of the matchday 23 altogether. The spine of Roigard, Love, Barrett and Proctor was the fulcrum of the Super Rugby winning campaign and have now been entrusted to repeat their efforts in the black jersey.
Perhaps most surprisingly, Rennie hasn’t backed a heavy ‘Canes forward pack for the clash, instead making changes to his replacements in particular.
Replacement front row
Samisoni Taukei’aho, George Bower and Pasilio Tosi have replaced Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia and Tyrel Lomax on the bench, the latter of which is moving into the starting XV, as Rennie and his staff give all the front rowers in the squad an opportunity in the first two rounds of the Nations Championship.
There is surely not much splitting Taukei’aho and Aumua behind Codie Taylor, and the former duly deserves his shot after a strong season with the Chiefs, while Bower shone for the Crusaders in the scrums but isn’t the most mobile of front rowers. Finally, Tosi is another who gets his chance after shining in the yellow jersey in 2026.
Leroy Carter
After Caleb Clarke put in a tidy, but not sensational, shift in against France, Leroy Carter replaces him in the run-on team. The former has been one of the All Blacks’ best under the high ball recently, but that was real strength of Carter’s too.
The aerial game was a serious weapon for the Azzurri during the Six Nations campaign, and the Chiefs star will need to be on the money with Louis Lynagh and promising talent Malik Faissal in the Italian backline this weekend.
Anton Lienert-Brown
Considering the form of Tupaea, the brilliance of Barrett and the excellence of Proctor, it’s surprising to see Anton Lienert-Brown feature on the bench. With Carter able to shift to the centres, cover in the starting XV for both fly-half and full-back, and Moorby able to play across the back-three, the All Blacks really could have selected a forward-heavier bench.
Ian Foster tried a 6-2 split once during his tenure, and that resulted in a record defeat to the Springboks at Twickenham, and perhaps that is the reasoning Scott Robertson and now Rennie have been reluctant to deploy the tactic.
Lienert-Brown played under Rennie this season at Kobe, so the All Blacks boss will be more clued up on his form than any other player, but still, the veteran midfielder looks to be at the bottom of the current pecking order. However, his experience is still clearly valued.
Tyrel Lomax
It’s been a long road to 50 for Tyrel Lomax, who made his Test debut for the All Blacks against Japan eight years ago. The Hurricanes star missed a large chunk of this year’s Super Rugby campaign through injury but quickly found his form on his return and now starts for the men in black in his milestone match.
In recent seasons in particular, Lomax has established himself as one of the best tighthead props in the game, being a technically brilliant scrummager while possessing a skillset beyond many of his front row peers.
Earning his 50th cap in front of the Hurricanes faithful is fitting for the prop who perhaps doesn’t get the fanfare he truly deserves.
Losers
Jamie Hannah
After equipping himself well in his Test debut off the bench against France, Jamie Hannah drops out of the matchday 23 to accommodate the return of Tupou Vaa’i. The 23-year-old was somewhat fortunate to claim a place on the bench last weekend due to Vaa’i’s absence and the late withdrawal of Patrick Tuipulotu, while he was only included in the squad as cover for the former.
However, he would have fancied his chances of featuring again considering his performance against Les Bleus, but it was not to be. The Crusaders man is bound to get another shot in 2026, surely.
Quinn Tupaea
Quinn Tupaea has definitely not been dropped because of his form; that’s for certain. After a stunning season with the Chiefs, he partnered Jordie Barrett in the All Blacks’ opening game of the year and was simply superb in everything that he did. However, Rennie and his staff seemingly want to have a look at how Leinert-Brown and Proctor fare in the midfield against the Azzurri, who have the world-class duo of Juan Ignacio Brex and Tommaso Menoncello in the centres.
The Italian pairing is perhaps the best midfield combination in the Six Nations and will definitely wreak some havoc for the All Blacks’ defence, which makes the decision to omit Tupaea all the more puzzling. It’s the kind of battle that would suit Tupaea to the tee, but instead, Rennie is testing the waters beyond the Barrett-Tupaea combo.
Caleb Clarke
As mentioned above, Clarke has been consistently one of the All Blacks’ best under the high ball in recent seasons, but against France, he was far less explosive and impactful than he could have been. He didn’t have a poor outing, but it was far from blockbuster, and like with Tupaea, it looks as if Rennie wants to learn more about the squad with Carter in the starting lineup.
Clarke is a unit of a winger with Carter offering a smaller frame and more nimble feet in the wider channels. In the duo, New Zealand have some diversity in skill set, and perhaps the staff just feel that for this week, Carter is a better fit than Clarke.
Peter Lakai
The All Blacks’ loose trio was well balanced, effective and accurate against France last weekend, but Peter Lakai was the least impactful of the three and duly drops out of the team as Wallace Sititi starts and Segner comes onto the bench.
While Lakai did score a try against Les Bleus, his performance wasn’t to the same standard that he set during the Super Rugby season, and while this could very well be a pre-planned selection, the ‘Canes star didn’t make himself undroppable versus France.
The competition for back-row places is fierce in the All Blacks set-up and in his first audition under the new coaching team, Lakai didn’t rise to the occasion and will need to wait for his next opportunity.
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Beauden Barrett
For the past 14 years, yes, you read that right, Beauden Barrett has been a staple and regular feature in the All Blacks team, until now. For the second game in a row, Rennie has overlooked a true legend of the black jersey, deeming that his experience, nous and skill set is not needed. Instead, he has handed the playmaking keys to Love and McKenzie.
“He carved us up a handful of times [at training] today. But again, Ruben’s first test at 10 last week, played really well, playing back at home, the connection with [Cam Roigard and Billy Proctor], so we’re keen to play him again,” Rennie said on Barrett’s absence after naming his team.
In Love, McKenzie and even Jordie Barrett, there is more than sufficient cover at fly-half with the trio all capable of playing full-back as are Moorby and Will Jordan. So even a place on the bench would be a bit of a waste. Still, it feels bizarre that we’re heading into the second Test match of the year and the oldest Barrett won’t be donning the black jersey.
Is Father Time catching up with the 35-year-old, or are the staff simply confident about his ability and what he brings to the team that they are just keeping him on ice for bigger Tests down the line with Ireland next week at Eden Park and the tour of South Africa shortly afterwards. We will have to wait to find out.
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Fehi Fineanganofo
While Rennie has backed a large Hurricanes contingent in his backline, there is one notable absentee in the form of Fehi Fineanganofo. One has to think that had he not suffered a shoulder strain, he would be making his first start for the All Blacks this weekend.
The 23-year-old was somewhat quiet in his short cameo versus France last weekend, but his explosion on the international scene is more a matter of when, not if. Perhaps that will come at the Fortress that is Eden Park next week. But it is a cruel fate that it won’t be in front of a sold-out Wellington crowd.
Kyle Preston
A victim of Cam Roigard’s brilliance. There is no doubt that the All Blacks have one clear first-choice number nine, with the rest playing second fiddle, and because of that, Kyle Preston has been snubbed for back-to-back weeks. Rennie explained that the staff wanted to see more of Cortez Ratima, who got just five minutes off the bench last weekend.
That is a fair assessment, but it does look as if Preston will only get a chance to strut his stuff when the team arrives in South Africa.
