All Blacks team: Winners and losers as Scott Robertson ‘digs himself into a hole’ with out-of-form duo
All Blacks back Rieko Ioane and head coach Scott Robertson.
Scott Robertson has named his All Blacks team to tackle the Springboks in the huge Rugby Championship match at Eden Park and we pick out our winners and losers.
Despite defeat last time out, New Zealand’s head coach has decided not to make sweeping changes, with just three alterations in total. Two of those come in the backline – one being enforced – with the other up front.
Winners
Ardie Savea
Congratulations to the outstanding back-rower who will earn his 100th cap for the All Blacks this weekend. It is an apt occasion for one of the modern-day greats to reach the milestone with New Zealand taking on the Springboks at Eden Park in the biggest game since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final.
Savea has been one of the best players in the sport since his debut nine years ago and was named World Rugby Player of the Year in ’23. Now back at openside flanker, having been at number eight for several seasons, the 31-year-old has a crucial role to play in Auckland.
Emoni Narawa
Arguably the biggest selection call from Robertson with the Chiefs star finally getting his chance following the fairly average showings from Sevu Reece. Narawa impressed in his only New Zealand appearance this season, as they hammered France in the second Test in Wellington, and he has an opportunity to cement his spot here.
It is a big challenge for the 26-year-old, who will be tested aerially by the Springboks, while his kick-chase game will need to be effective after the All Blacks struggled in those areas against Argentina.
Rieko Ioane and Billy Proctor
Robertson has rather dug himself into a hole with these two but particularly Ioane. Caleb Clarke’s injury has, to an extent, forced his hand, but the decision to shift the 28-year-old to wing has not paid off so far. In a game as big as this, the All Blacks boss was never going to make sweeping changes, so it is hope rather than expectation that it finally comes good.
Of course, Robertson could have moved Ioane back to centre and left out Proctor, enabling him to bring in another out-and-out wing, but again, too many alterations to the outside backs could have had an adverse effect.
The issue is that the Blues star has been poor aerially and, while he is opposite a smaller player in Cheslin Kolbe, the Springbok has a remarkable leap and has had plenty of success in the kick-chase game this year. The hosts will just hope that the work they have done in training has rectified the problem.
Simon Parker
Credit to the head coach in this instance, however, after keeping faith with the talented back-rower despite their loss in Buenos Aires. On debut, Parker was one of the visitors’ better players in an otherwise poor performance and he has shifted to his best position at blindside flanker for this encounter.
With Parker’s Chiefs team-mate Wallace Sititi coming into the side at number eight, it forms a nice balance in the loose trio. It actually gives them five jumping options in the pack, but you feel the extra height of the blindside will be particularly useful against the Springboks on Saturday.
Kyle Preston
Such is the number of injuries that the All Blacks have at scrum-half, their fifth choice in the position is in line to make his debut this weekend. Robertson will no doubt want their more experienced playmaker, Finlay Christie, to do most of the heavy lifting, but Preston is ready and waiting should they need him.
The 25-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough season for the Crusaders in Super Rugby Pacific but even he probably never expected to be in this position so quickly. Injuries to Cam Roigard, Cortez Ratima and Noah Notham have opened up this opportunity, however, and he has the game to be a success at Test level.
Preston quickly made a name for himself by scoring a hat-trick off the bench on debut, showing some outstanding support lines, but it is his accuracy in the box-kick which has marked him out as someone to watch going forward.
Ethan de Groot and Fletcher Newell
Tamaiti Williams and Tyrel Lomax may have recovered from injury, but it is a credit to De Groot and Newell that they have retained their places. It has once again not been an entirely convincing year for the All Blacks but one thing that has worked really well is the scrum.
Under the guidance of the outstanding coach Jason Ryan, New Zealand have been dominant in the set-piece and they will need to be just as effective this weekend when they face the Springboks front-row, which continues to be the visitors’ biggest weapon.
Losers
Cortez Ratima
It is tough on the inexperienced scrum-half, who has been ruled out of this clash due to a rib injury. Ratima impressed in the opening game in Argentina after being handed a chance due to Roigard’s absence, but he was forced off early a week later.
The 24-year-old no doubt saw this period as an opportunity to lay down a marker, but unfortunately, he will have to watch on from the sidelines as Finlay Christie takes the reins for the Eden Park showdown.
Other injuries
Ratima is not the only player to miss out. As already mentioned, the All Blacks’ big issue has come at scrum-half, with Roigard and Hotham currently nursing injuries, but the loss of Patrick Tuipulotu could also be a significant blow. Tuipulotu has been superb off the bench so far this year and his absence was keenly felt when they went down to Los Pumas in Buenos Aires.
Fabian Holland
Tuipulotu’s bench role will now be taken by Holland, who has been dropped from the XV despite featuring in every previous starting line-up in 2025. The young lock has been their big find this year, but Robertson has decided to go with a more experienced second-row partnership in Scott Barrett and Tupou Vaa’i.
It is not necessarily a brutal demotion for Holland, with the 22-year-old still having a big role to play this weekend, but he will be disappointed by the decision to take him out of the run-on side given his form since making his debut against France.
Sevu Reece
Is it now the end of the road for the wing at Test level? The performance of Narawa on Saturday will go some way to determining that, but this does feel a rather significant call from Robertson. Reece has been a favourite of the head coach’s but there is no doubt that he is not justifying his place in the side at the moment and has quite rightly been dropped.
The abiding memory of Reece in 2024 was him being burned for pace by Louis Bielle-Biarrey and he has not managed to shake that from our minds with his displays on the field this year. He has not been poor but there is certainly a lack of zip in his play, and Narawa appears to be the coming force on that right wing.
Anton Lienert-Brown
Another player whose days at Test level could be numbered, given that he has been overlooked for the younger Quinn Tupaea this weekend. Lienert-Brown recovered from a concussion to feature for Waikato in the NPC but he did not do enough to force his way into the 23 for the Springboks encounter.