Dave Rennie adds three possible debutants to 44-man squad for South Africa

All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie, selector Sir Graham Henry, and senior assistant Neil Barnes have opted for three debutants among their additional ten players to take on South Africa in the Greatest Rivalry Tour.

All 34 Nations Championship squad members have been retained, while Moana Pasifika enforcer Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa, Chiefs playmaker Josh Jacomb, and Hurricanes prop Siale Lauaki are the three uncapped players named in the touring squad.

Tupou Ta’eiloa, who scored eleven tries in 25 Moana Pasifika appearances, was born in New Zealand and plays for Southland in the NPC competition, having attended Otago Boys High School.

Lauaki, a 23-year-old prop who can play on both sides of the scrum, played eight games for the New Zealand U20s over two years, and represented the All Blacks XV in 2025 under Jamie Joseph.

Crusaders loose-forward Ethan Blackadder has been recalled, having last represented the All Blacks back in 2024 under Scott Robertson.

Chiefs prop Ollie Norris and Crusaders hooker George Bell join Lauaki as the front row additions, after making their debuts in 2025 and 2024 respectively.

World Rugby Men’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year Fabian Holland is passed fit after a hit-out for Otago on Friday against Mid Canterbury. He will return to the All Blacks frame having missed the whole Super Rugby Pacific season with the Highlanders through injury.

Rennie and his selectors have picked Jacomb as playmaking cover, joining Ruben Love, Damian McKenzie, and Beauden Barrett in the first-five group.

88-Test veteran Rieko Ioane re-joins the group after coming in as injury cover for the Nations Championship July window, and is listed in the outside-backs for the tour of South Africa.

Highlanders co-captain Timoci Tavatavanawai earns another squad call-up, while Chiefs winger Emoni Narawa has recovered from a near season-long injury to be named in Rennie’s 44-man squad.

Rennie said that the 44-man squad has a balance to it, and includes several inexperienced players who will be eager to get started.

“This tour will challenge us and demand the very best of us. We have selected a squad that we know is up to the challenge. It’s a balanced blend of experienced Test players and a cohort of younger players who will be keen to work hard and showcase their skillset on tour.

“We are thrilled for those players who will have the opportunity to pull on the All Blacks jersey for the first time, and welcome back those who are returning to the group.

“With eight matches in six weeks, including a four-Test series against the Springboks, this would have to be the toughest tour in rugby. Every player will be required to play their part across this tour, whether it’s preparing to play or helping their mates prepare.

“It will be an intense seven weeks of touring but an excellent opportunity for us to pit ourselves against the current benchmark team in world rugby, and to build connections with each other in a way that only a tour of this scale can do. What we learn about ourselves on and off-field will set us up well for the Rugby World Cup in 2027,” Rennie said.

The All Blacks head coach explained that Ardie Savea will only travel to South Africa ahead of the first Test match on Sunday, August 23, leaving other experienced players to captain the domestic encounters.

“The franchise games will provide an opportunity for other leaders in the group to step in as Captain, before Ardie Savea arrives in South Africa ahead of the first Test match,” the All Blacks coach said.

“Ardie has carried a massive workload in the last couple of years and we think it is best for him to have an extended break so he can come back ready to lead us into the Test series. We have a number of excellent leaders in our squad who will embrace the chance to captain the side.”

The squad is as follows (age, Super Rugby Club, province, Test caps):

* denotes new cap

Forwards (25)

Hookers

Asafo Aumua (29 / Hurricanes / Wellington / 22)
Codie Taylor (35 / Crusaders / Canterbury / 109)
Samisoni Taukei’aho (28 / Chiefs / Waikato / 44)
George Bell (24 / Crusaders / Canterbury / 4)

Props

Ethan De Groot (27 / Highlanders / Southland / 43)
George Bower (34 / Crusaders / Otago / 26)
Xavier Numia (27 / Hurricanes / Wellington / 2)
Ollie Norris (26 / Chiefs / Waikato / 3)
Tyrel Lomax (30 / Hurricanes / Tasman / 51)
Fletcher Newell (26 / Crusaders / Canterbury / 37)
Pasilio Tosi (27 / Hurricanes / Bay of Plenty / 17)
Siale Lauaki * (23 / Hurricanes / Wellington / 0)

Locks

Tupou Vaa’i (26 / Chiefs / Taranaki / 47)
Patrick Tuipulotu (33 / Blues / Auckland / 57)
Josh Lord (25 / Chiefs / Taranaki / 15)
Sam Darry (26 / Blues / Canterbury / 10)
Fabian Holland (23 / Highlanders / Otago / 12)

Loose Forwards

Peter Lakai (23 / Hurricanes / Wellington / 10)
Simon Parker (26 / Chiefs / Northland / 8)
Ethan Blackadder (31 / Crusaders / Tasman / 14)
Luke Jacobson (29 / Chiefs / Waikato / 27)
Anton Segner (25 / Blues / Auckland / 2)
Ardie Savea (32 / Moana Pasifika / Wellington / 109) (Captain)
Wallace Sititi (23 / Chiefs / North Harbour / 21)
Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa * (22 / Moana Pasifika / Southland / 0)

Backs (19)

Halfbacks

Cameron Roigard (25 / Hurricanes / Counties Manukau / 20)
Cortez Ratima (25 / Chiefs / Waikato / 24)
Kyle Preston (26 / Crusaders / Wellington / 1)

First Five-Eighths

Ruben Love (25 / Hurricanes / Wellington / 8)
Beauden Barrett (35 / Blues / Taranaki / 144)
Damian McKenzie (31 / Chiefs / Waikato / 77)
Josh Jacomb * (25 / Chiefs / Taranaki / 0)

Midfielders

Jordie Barrett (29 / Hurricanes / Taranaki / 81)
Quinn Tupaea (27 / Chiefs / Waikato / 26)
Billy Proctor (27 / Hurricanes / Wellington / 13)
Anton Lienert-Brown (31 / Chiefs / Waikato / 90)
Timoci Tavatavanawai (28 / Highlanders / Tasman / 2)

Outside Backs

Caleb Clarke (27 / Blues / Auckland / 35)
Fehi Fineanganofo (23 / Hurricanes / Bay of Plenty / 1)
Leroy Carter (27 / Chiefs / Bay of Plenty / 7)
Josh Moorby (28 / Hurricanes / Waikato / 2)
Will Jordan (28 / Crusaders / Tasman / 57)
Rieko Ioane (29 / Blues / Auckland / 88)
Emoni Narawa (27 / Chiefs / Bay of Plenty / 4)

Unavailable due to injury: Tamaiti Williams, Scott Barrett and Leicester Fainga’anuku.

New Zealand Rugby CEO Steve Lancaster said that over three thousand fans are expected to travel on the tour.

“This is the next chapter in one of our sport’s defining rivalries. It is our first full-scale, old-style tour in 30 years – since ‘The Incomparables’ led by Sean Fitzpatrick pulled off the All Blacks’ first series win in South Africa in 1996,” Lancaster said.

“Fans from both nations and around the world have embraced the concept with around 3,000 fans expected to travel for the tour – the majority from New Zealand. We already can’t wait to host the next iteration in 2030 when South Africa embark on their first professional-era tour of New Zealand.”

Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Fixtures (all times listed are NZST):

Saturday 8 August, 5:00am: All Blacks v Stormers, DHL Stadium, Cape Town

Wednesday 12 August, 5:00am: All Blacks v Sharks, Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban

Sunday 16 August, 5:00am: All Blacks v Bulls, Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

Sunday 23 August, 3:00am: All Blacks v Springboks, Ellis Park, Johannesburg (first Test)

Wednesday 26 August, 5:00am: All Blacks v Lions, Ellis Park, Johannesburg

Sunday 30 August, 3:00am: All Blacks v Springboks, DHL Stadium, Cape Town (second Test)

Sunday 6 September, 3:00am: All Blacks v Springboks, FNB Stadium, Johannesburg (third Test)

Sunday 13 September, 9:00am: All Blacks v Springboks, M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore (fourth Test)