All Blacks squad: Winners and losers as Dave Rennie makes ‘overdue’ Rieko Ioane decision and exception for Fehi Fineanganofo
Rieko Ioane and an inset of Fehi Fineanganofo.
Following the announcement of Dave Rennie’s first All Blacks squad ahead of the 2026 international season, here are our winners and losers.
Rennie has selected 34 players ahead of the Nations Championship Southern Series with fixtures against France, Italy and Ireland in July. The new head coach has picked 11 players from each of the Super Rugby Pacific finalists, the Hurricanes and Chiefs.
Five Crusaders and Blues stars crack the nod, respectively, with the Highlanders providing just one player, with Moana Pasifika’s Ardie Savea named as captain for the 2026 season while ‘Saders forward Jamie Hannah is named as temporary injury cover.
Without further ado, here are our winners and losers from the 34-man squad.
Winners
Ardie Savea
There really was only one player who could be named as Rennie’s captain after the injury to Scott Barrett. Savea worked closely with the new All Blacks head coach throughout the Japan Rugby League One season and subsequently got the nod over Codie Taylor for the role.
The 32-year-old All Blacks centurion was always going to be one of the first names on the teamsheet for Rennie and was ultimately an easy captaincy call, especially because he is bound to play the full 80 minutes, which is unlikely to be the case for Taylor.
It’s yet to be seen whether Savea will be the skipper going through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup, but that shouldn’t matter right now. He has the public’s support and will certainly have the players’ backing too. The All Blacks need positivity after Scott Robertson’s dismissal, and naming Savea as captain is a smart, straightforward call from Rennie.
“To serve this team, its people and its fans is one of the greatest honours in sport,” said Savea. “I believe this role is about empowering everyone in the group to be the best that they can be – from the leadership, to the players and wider staff.
“A united All Blacks team has the power to unite a nation. And we are going to need all five million Kiwis to get in behind us as we walk towards the challenges that are waiting for us over the next 16 months.”
Anton Segner
“Probably the best player in the Blues camp,” according to All Blacks assistant coach Neil Barnes, who admitted that he wasn’t “quite aware of how good” Segner was. It’s high praise for the Blues loose forward who has seemingly won the straight shootout with Du’Plessis Kirifi for a spot in the team – more on him later.
The German-born back-row made the second most tackles in Super Rugby for the Blues, crossed for three tries in his 16 appearances while flexing his all-round skillset by winning 62 lineouts, including five steals.
What has seemingly played a big role in his selection is the fact that the 24-year-old can also feature across the back-row and is far more versatile than Kirifi, which was surely a massive contributing factor in his selection.
Kyle Preston
If fit, Cam Roigard was always going to crack the All Blacks squad, but who Rennie would select as his back-ups was the question that the 2026 Super Rugby season was going to answer. Ultimately, the new head coach has gone for Cortez Ratima, whose Super Rugby final shocker did not deter Rennie and his staff, and Crusaders number nine Preston.
Preston earned his Test debut off the bench against the Springboks last year at Eden Park but failed to add to his international cap tally under ex-head coach Robertson. However, his performances for the ‘Saders this season clearly caught the eye of the new All Blacks staff who favoured him over his clubmate Noah Hotham and Blues half-back Finlay Christie.
It’s an intriguing call from Rennie and his staff considering that Preston did not start a single Super Rugby match for the Crusaders this season but does perhaps suggest that there is a shift in the approach heading into 2026. Throughout Robertson’s tenure, one of the biggest criticisms was the lacklustre performances of his bench and the manner in which he introduced players in the latter stages. Preston impressed in this regard throughout the season for the Crusaders and could well do that job for the All Blacks, playing a supporting role to Roigard in particular.
Ruben Love
After guiding the Hurricanes to their first Super Rugby title in 10 years, delivering a man-of-the-match performance in the final, Love was always going to be a sure-fire selection for the All Blacks. The five-Test cap international was so often selected by Robertson but sparingly used by the former head coach, but looks primed for a big year in the black jersey.
It’s notable that Love has been listed among the fly-halves in the squad, the position where he played much of his rugby for the Hurricanes this year, but he does offer Rennie an option at full-back too.
The next three Test matches are massive ones for the ‘Canes rookie with Richie Mo’unga set to link up the squad later this year. In his absence, Love has a huge opportunity to push his way up the pecking order, particularly after Damian McKenzie’s horror show in the final and Beauden Barrett’s indifferent form this campaign.
Fehi Fineanganofo
Usually, the All Blacks would not select a player that has signed to leave New Zealand, but Rennie simply couldn’t overlook Fineanganofo after his record-breaking 17 tries this season in Super Rugby.
The head coach could well have ulterior motives with his selection, hinting that Fineanganofo could well be negotiating a way out of his deal with Newcastle Red Bulls.
“I think that’s a process that he’s going through, but what we know is he’s contracted here until November,” he said after naming the All Blacks squad. “His form has been irresistible, and we’re keen to name him. I guess he’ll work through that in time.”
Fineanganofo not only led the league in tries scored along with teammate Josh Moorby but also racked up the most metres (1,067), ranked fourth overall for defenders beaten (57) and made the most clean breaks (41) in Super Rugby.
Josh Moorby
Moorby has taken his game to another level since his return to the Hurricanes from French club Montpellier, with the 27-year-old impressing at full-back and on the wing en route to winning the Super Rugby title.
He wasn’t ever really on the radar for the All Blacks during Robertson’s era, but Rennie simply couldn’t ignore the outside back.
“We all saw it on the weekend, and we’ve seen it all year, they both scored 17 tries, which is a record and reflects the type of rugby that the Hurricanes played, but also the ability of these boys to finish,” Rennie said of Fineanganofo and Moorby.
“Look, I love their anticipation, but on both sides of the park, they have a massive work ethic, and then the ability to beat defenders and finish is key. So, excellent seasons and both phenomenal performances in the weekend. I’m excited to connect with them later in the week.”
Jamie Hannah
Perhaps unlucky that he didn’t crack the nod in the initial squad, Hannah does get a shot at Test debut after being included as training cover for Tupou Vaa’i. The lock/blindside flanker was superb for the Crusaders all season and led Super Rugby in lineout wins, along with Queensland Reds forward Joel Brial.
Several players made their debuts under Robertson after being included in the squad as injury cover, and this is Hannah’s opportunity to impress the All Blacks coaching team in person.
Leroy Carter
For the most part, Rennie has delivered on his promise to select his first All Blacks squad on form in Super Rugby, but Carter is the exception to that considering the Chiefs winger missed a large chunk of the season through injury.
The 27-year-old was a standout performer in November of the All Blacks and started the 2026 campaign strongly with a try in round two against the Highlanders and a hat-trick against Moana Pasifika. However, he missed the tail end of the regular season and only returned in time for the semi-finals of the competition.
Carter’s selection is certainly justified considering his pedigree, but the large majority of the squad has been selected on form, and to be frank, he has lacked minutes.
All Blacks squad: Dave Rennie axes Rieko Ioane, selects four bolters and names new captain for 2026
Anton Lienert-Brown
Like Savea, Lienert-Brown has benefited immensely from working with Rennie in Kobe, with the All Blacks veteran included as one of the four centres in the squad. The 31-year-old has certainly slipped down the pecking order for the Test team in recent years, and many would have predicted that he would miss out on the squad in favour of Rieko Ioane or Timoci Tavatavanawai.
Perhaps his ability to slot into inside and outside centre has played into his favour too, as is his experience with only Beauden Barrett boasting more caps among the backline players.
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Losers
Injured quartet
After starring on the flank and in the backs for the Crusaders, it’s gutting that Leicester Fainga’anuku is set for a long spell on the sidelines after breaking his leg in the Super Rugby Pacific play-offs. Rennie will hope that he returns in time for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour to South Africa, with the same true for his clubmate Tamaiti Williams.
All in all, Rennie will be pleased that the injury list isn’t very extensive, with Scott Barrett and Fabian Holland making it four All Blacks sidelined. Still, the quartet would have been key players for the Test team this year.
Rieko Ioane
Arguably the biggest snub of the squad, Ioane has rarely been overlooked for the All Blacks since making his Test debut in 2017 but Rennie and his staff have made the bold and overdue call despite the 29-year-old being on a New Zealand Rugby contract.
Ioane’s stint with Leinster was largely underwhelming despite a strong finish to his time in Ireland, and while his omission seems brutal, it is justified. Quinn Tupaea and Jordie Barrett have been the best centres in Super Rugby Pacific this year, while Billy Proctor formed a strong partnership with the latter. Lienert-Brown’s inclusion is questionable, but Ioane was at his best for Leinster on the wing. Simply, his form hasn’t been as strong as the likes of Caleb Clarke, Fineanganofo and Moorby.
He started to fall out of favour for the All Blacks last year under Robertson, shifting to the wing against France and was then largely overlooked for the Rugby Championship and November internationals. It’s not entirely shocking that he has been overlooked, but it does suggest a changing of the guard of sorts.
Overlooked loose forwards
In Peter Lakai, Simon Parker, Savea, Wallace Sititi, Luke Jacobson and Segner, Rennie has selected a strong crop of loose forwards with the back-row being incredibly well-stocked in New Zealand.
Still, three players will be rightly disappointed that they didn’t make the first All Blacks squad of the year. Most notably, Hurricanes co-captain Kirifi, who has fallen victim to his lack of versatility. The back-row selections hint that Savea could well be donning the number seven jersey in Rennie’s squad, and frankly, Lakai ticks a lot of the same boxes as Kirifi and could play all three loose forward positions, which cannot be said of his clubmate.
Over to the Crusaders, and both Christian Lio-Willie and Ethan Blackadder can feel hard done by with their omissions. The former has been superb in the number eight jersey all season. The 27-year-old earned four caps last year, and his form in Super Rugby was certainly deserving of a recall to the Test team, but it was not to be. As for Blackadder, his injury profile has been the biggest setback for his international ambitions, but he enjoyed an injury-free run of matches in 2026 and was one of the Saders’ top performers. Unlike Lio-Willie and Kirifi, Blackadder could feature across the back-row for the All Blacks but hasn’t done enough to force his way back into the Test set-up.
Richie Mo’unga and New Zealand Rugby
Rennie’s first squad does not feature Mo’unga, with New Zealand Rugby insisting that the fly-half has to play in the NPC before returning to the Test squad. His absence in the squad is a reminder of just how daft NZ Rugby’s self-inflicted selection policy is, particularly given that the board deemed that the team was so off-course for the World Cup that a change in head coach was needed in 2026.
Love, Barrett and McKenzie are all fantastic options for the All Blacks number 10 jersey, and Mo’unga will add to those stocks eventually, but the fact that he isn’t in the mix already is plainly stupid.
Naitoa Ah Kuoi
Scott Barrett and Holland’s injuries opened the door for a lock to potentially force their way back into the squad, which was ultimately snapped up by the fit-again duo of Josh Lord and Sam Darry.
However, Chiefs star Naitoa Ah Kuoi will be disappointed that he didn’t get a look in after his starring performances off the bench for the Waikato club. The 26-year-old hasn’t really come onto the All Blacks radar but he certainly warranted a second look at the very least through his form this campaign. Perhaps he will come into the mix for the tour to South Africa with Rennie confirming that he will be picking a 44-man squad for the series.
Newcastle Red Bulls
Fineanganofo’s call-up to the All Blacks squad could have consequences for Newcastle Red Bulls, who look set to lose out on the star winger’s services.
The PREM Rugby outfit saw value in the winger who was overlooked by Robertson last year and moved to snap up his services, but with a call-up to the Test team this time around, he will surely open discussions with the club to cancel his contract. It’s a tough position for the English side, who will certainly want to add the Hurricanes superstar to their ranks but won’t want to do so if it leads to the player being unhappy.
