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‘Expect a massive challenge’: Ardie Savea to captain All Blacks against Wallabies
Backrower Ardie Savea will lead the All Blacks into a Bledisloe Cup battle on Saturday night with regular skipper Sam Cane failing to overcome a neck injury.
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Cane was replaced at half-time against the Springboks in Auckland earlier this month, and it was later revealed that the flanker has sustained a neck strain during the 35-20 win.
Savea, who has captained the All Blacks before, will take up the leadership role against the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In Cane’s absence, Dalton Papali’i will start at openside.
The rest of the starting side remains unchanged, although there are some differences in the reserves. Anton Lienert-Brown returns from suspension, and veteran Samuel Whitelock is back after an injury spell.
Ofa Tuungafasi is also back in the mix after missing the Test against South Africa, and Hurricanes halfback Cam Roigard is in line to debut after being named in the No. 21 jumper.
“This is a special Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship Test, which doubles as the opening Bledisloe Cup clash of the year,” coach Ian Foster said in a statement.
“This trophy means so much to both countries and we expect a massive challenge on Saturday.
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“As the final Rugby Championship Test, there is much at stake in the game.
“We have learned a lot from two stern Tests so far this year and there is huge excitement about playing Australia at this iconic game.”
Preparing to play in front of about 80,000 fans at the most well-known stadium in Australia, the All Blacks have named a star-studded side.
Ethan de Groot, Codie Taylor and Tyrel Lomax have retained their spot in the front row, while Brodie Retallick and Scott Barrett round out the tight five.
Shannon Frizell – who was compared to legendary flanker Jerome Kaino after the win over South Africa – will start at blindside. Frizell will link up with Papali’i and captain Ardie Savea in a formidable loose forward trio.
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Veteran Aaron Smith joins Richie Mo’unga in the halves, and “world-class” talent Jordie Barrett is just outside them at inside centre. Barrett will combine with Rieko Ioane in the midfield once again.
Mark Telea starts on the left wing, with electric outside back Will Jordan lining up on the right. Beauden is the third and final Barrett brother in the starting side – retaining his spot at fullback.
The All Blacks take on the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday evening.
All Blacks team to take on Wallabies
- Ethan de Groot
- Codie Taylor
- Tyrel Lomax
- Brodie Retallick
- Scott Barrett
- Shannon Frizell
- Dalton Papali’i
- Ardie Savea (c)
- Aaron Smith
- Richie Mo’unga
- Mark Telea
- Jordie Barrett
- Rieko Ioane
- Will Jordan
- Beauden Barrett
Replacements:
- Samisoni Taukei’aho
- Ofa Tu’ungafasi
- Nepo Laulala
- Samuel Whitelock
- Luke Jacobson
- Cam Roigard
- Anton Lienert-Brown
- Caleb Clarke
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
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