All Blacks team: Winners and losers as Dave Rennie denies standout a ‘fair shot’ while ‘world-class’ forward pays the price for Springboks failings
Winners and losers from Dave Rennie's selections for the All Blacks' clash with the Wallabies at Eden Park.
Following the announcement of the All Blacks team that will face Australia in the Bledisloe Cup match at Eden Park, here are our winners and losers.
Head coach Dave Rennie has made several changes to the team that lined up against the Springboks in Baltimore a few weeks ago. Several of those alterations have been enforced through injury, but the squad has been bolstered by the return of experienced forwards for the clash against their trans-Tasman rivals.
Without further ado, here are our winners and losers.
Winners
Scott Barrett
It’s been a testing year for Scott Barrett, who took up a non-playing sabbatical for the Super Rugby Pacific season, with his return delayed after he underwent ankle and Achilles surgery.
He marked his return in the Taranaki yellow and black, playing 40 minutes in the NPC, which was enough to convince the All Blacks coaching team that he was ready to pull on the black jersey again.
Barrett won’t carry the captaincy tag on Saturday at Eden Park, but that will matter little to him as he earns his 90th Test cap. While the 32-year-old will be frustrated by how 2026 has panned out for him so far, assistant coach Jason Ryan predicts that it could extend his career.
“He has come in sharp and he requested to play for Taranaki yesterday. He wanted to get 40 minutes under his belt. So, he’s genuinely selectable to play Test rugby. I think he’s just got to come in and be himself, you know,” he said.
“He’s a very lateral thinker of the game. We just need him to play free and really relaxed and be capable of what he’s really good at around his ball carry and his physicality around the forward pack.
“So, looking forward to seeing that, and I know that he’s worked extremely hard, and I think this injury, as much as it’s a nasty one, it’s potentially given him a little bit of longevity in his career, and he’s looking real sharp.”
After naming his squad, Rennie said that he was pleased with the depth at lock for the All Blacks and there is no doubting Barrett’s world-class pedigree. His return is not only a boost for him but the team. The lineout struggled against the Springboks during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series and Barrett’s presence at the set-piece could go a long way in remedying those issues.
Leroy Carter
The All Blacks back-three will be in the spotlight again on Saturday as the wingers struggled under the high ball against the Boks, and that was an area of real strength for the Wallabies in Perth.
Max Jorgensen and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii wreaked havoc in the aerial battle versus South Africa, and Leroy Carter is now being tasked to defuse those Wallabies threats at Eden Park.
It’s been a challenging few weeks for Carter in the black jersey; he came off the bench in the first RGR Test and started the next two. However, the Springboks exploited him defensively in the third Test match, which resulted in his dropping for the series finale in Baltimore.
He gets a shot at redemption in Auckland as he returns to the run-on team, perhaps benefitting from the absence of Fehi Fineanganofo, but he has still managed to usurp Josh Moorby for a starting role.
Wallace Sititi
It’s been somewhat of a rollercoaster year for Wallace Sititi, who has been in and out of Rennie’s squad throughout the international season. He was dropped from the matchday 23 after an underwhelming performance against Italy and only returned to the Test team for the latter two meetings with South Africa.
His cameos off the bench against the Boks have convinced the coaching staff that he deserves a shot in the run-on team again, as he packs down in the number eight jersey in the absence of Ardie Savea.
Sititi starts alongside Peter Lakai and Tupou Vaa’i, with Ethan Blackadder rather puzzlingly dropped from the squad entirely despite his standout performances during the RGR tour, particularly in Baltimore.
Anton Segner
A welcome return for the All Blacks as Anton Segner was in outstanding form before an injury cruelly denied him the opportunity to face the Springboks. He was initially included in the matchday squad for the opening Test match against South Africa but was forced to withdraw and was ruled out for the remainder of the tour.
The German-born loose forward is held in high regard by the All Blacks coaching team and rightly so; he has impressed with every opportunity he has had in the team, producing a man of the match shift in a tough clash with the Blues and was equally effective during the Nations Championship.
Beauden Barrett
The main beneficiary of Richie Mo’unga’s injury in training earlier this week. Beauden Barrett was a go-to selection for ex-All Blacks coaches Sir Steve Hansen, Ian Foster and Scott Robertson but dropped down the pecking order since Rennie has taken charge of the team.
The veteran playmaker earned his first Test cap of the year against the Springboks in Baltimore, coming off the bench, and now gets his first start under the new head coach.
Barrett has a knack for producing some of his best performances against the Wallabies, and Rennie will be hoping that he will do so again this weekend.
Dave Rennie issues Richie Mo’unga update after ‘hardest’ All Blacks team selection
Shannon Frizell
Three years ago, Shannon Frizell was in the form of his career in the black jersey as he nailed down the number six jersey and helped New Zealand reach the Rugby World Cup Final.
The bruising back-rower then packed his bags for Japan, putting himself out of contention for the All Blacks and has now returned in time to make his bid for the 2027 World Cup squad.
At his best, Frizell was a force of nature at the highest level, but his issue has always been around consistency. That 2023 season was the first time that he really strung successive strong performances together, and if he is able to replicate that going forward, he will be a huge asset for the All Blacks.
Losers
Richie Mo’unga
With Ruben Love ruled out for the remainder of the international season, the door was flung wide open for Richie Mo’unga to nail down the number 10 jersey. However, he was denied that opportunity with a calf injury ruling him out of both Test matches against the Wallabies, putting his involvement in the November Nations Championship matches in doubt too.
Rennie confirmed that Mo’unga was set to feature against the Wallabies after naming his team, saying: “We named Richie to the squad on Monday, and he got injured on Tuesday, which is disappointing for him and disappointing for the group.”
He added: “He won’t be available next week either, and then we’ll assess; it’s a little tweak in his calf.”
In his absence, McKenzie gets the nod at fly-half for the first time under Rennie after starting every Test match to date at full-back. While he is a handy replacement, the last time he started in the role was the Super Rugby Pacific final, where he quite frankly had an absolute mare. The pressure will be on him to ensure he does not repeat that in the black jersey.
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Fabian Holland
Quite simply a victim of Scott Barrett’s return. Fabian Holland was one of the standout forwards throughout Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series but is overlooked for a second Test match in a row.
The All Blacks are building strong depth in the second-row and last year’s World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year is paying the price for that and New Zealand’s faltering lineout against the Springboks.
Rennie’s favouring of naming two back-rowers on the bench in the form of Frizell and Segner has also resulted in Holland’s snubbing.
Tyrel Lomax
The All Blacks boss has not been shy to admit when a player has been dropped because of their performances, with Wallace Sititi being the first high-profile example, and Tyrel Lomax is the latest.
“Look, we just want more out of him; he has got a clear message around what we need to see, and he’s worked really hard this week, and I’m sure that we’ll get a response next time he gets an opportunity,” Rennie said, explaining the tighthead prop’s omission.
At his best, Lomax is one of the leading tighthead props in international rugby, but he hasn’t been at those levels this year, particularly against the Springboks. It certainly hasn’t helped that his Super Rugby season was interrupted by injuries while he also missed the tail-end of last year’s international campaign.
The All Blacks were outmuscled and battered in the scrums during the RGR Test series with the Springboks and Lomax is paying the price for his role in those failings.
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Fehi Fineanganofo
After a truly sensational Super Rugby Pacific season, Fineanganofo hasn’t quite kicked on in the All Blacks jersey as many would have hoped. He made his Test debut off the bench against France, and while he did have strong matches on tour in South Africa, he wasn’t good enough in the coaching staff’s opinion to secure a place in the squad to face the Boks.
Upon return to New Zealand, he was released to the Bay of Plenty and featured in the clash against North Harbour in order to get some game time, but that’s where injury struck.
Not only did he fail his subsequent head injury assessment after passing the original in game one – which results in a mandatory 12-day stand-down period – he also sustained a hamstring injury. A double whammy for the winger who has negotiated a late arrival at the Newcastle Falcons in order to chase a spot in the All Blacks’ Rugby World Cup squad.
Ethan Blackadder
One has to wonder what Ethan Blackadder has to do to get a fair shot and run in the All Blacks jersey after being snubbed yet again. Yes, the 31-year-old’s opportunities have been limited by injuries throughout his career, but he has been fit, firing, and in form in 2026.
Blackadder was quite simply the best All Blacks player on the park in the final tour match against the Lions, and when he finally got a chance in the series finale versus the Springboks, he again was the pick of the lot.
With Luke Jacobson and Savea ruled out through injury, the ‘Saders man would have fancied his chances of featuring against the All Blacks, but instead, Rennie has favoured Sititi, Vaa’i and Lakai.
Cortez Ratima
After coming off the bench in each of New Zealand’s three Nations Championship matches in July, Cortez Ratima has yet to be included in another All Blacks Test team. A knee injury denied him the opportunity to serve as Cam Roigard’s back-up, with Kyle Preston seemingly overtaking him in that Chris Whitaker position.
It’s plainly obvious that Roigard is the All Blacks’ first-choice scrum-half, much like George Gregan was for the Wallabies throughout his career, with Ratima and Preston currently tasked with performing the Whitaker role off the bench.
