Dave Rennie explains selection of All Blacks' new loose forward trio

Dave Rennie has revealed the loose forward trio was the selection that took the longest to finalise in his first matchday All Blacks team, settling on a surprising combination for the weekend’s France Test.

Peter Lakai has yet to start a first-class game on the blindside flank in his young career, but the 23-year-old will get that chance in Christchurch on Saturday evening.

Luke Jacobson has just one All Blacks start to his name in the current World Cup cycle, against Fiji in 2024, but will run out at openside flanker under the roof at One New Zealand Stadium.

And finally, captain Ardie Savea, who has worn the No.7 jersey for the past two years for both club and country, including during his two seasons at Dave Rennie’s former Kobe Steelers, will wear the No.8 jersey to begin the 2026 Test season.

In a heavily contested back-row group, it’s one of the less likely combinations, but Rennie says the positional choices have limited relevance.

“It’s just numbers on backs for me,” he told the media in Christchurch. “It sounds like some people got quite excited about the change, but all of those guys have played a little bit of No.8.

“We like Luke, Luke’s tough. He’ll have a real physical presence against the French, and we think that’s really important. Both Pete and Ardie will also give us a post-tackle presence; they’re excellent athletes who suit our type of game.

“It was the area we probably discussed most around combinations.”

Team Form

Last 5 Games

26 - 52

33 - 19

17 - 25

13 - 26

14 - 28

48 - 46

50 - 40

33 - 8

12 - 54

36 - 14

4

Wins

4

1

Streak

1

21

Tries Scored

30

47

Points Difference

81

4/5

First Try

4/5

3/5

First Points

4/5

4/5

Race To 10 Points

5/5

Lakai’s efforts at No.8 this season have helped produce a Super Rugby Pacific title for the Hurricanes, having won the black No.8 jersey at the back end of the 2025 Rugby Championship.

“He’s packing down at No.6 at the scrum, that’s probably the only difference,” Rennie said of Lakai. We like Ardie at No.8; we could have played Ardie at No.7. I reckon what they’ve got is a complementary skillset, so we’re excited to see them work together.”

Jacobson has had an injury-riddled two years outside of Super Rugby. He started the 2024 Test season as a frequent bench selection, making five appearances off the pine as well as his start against Fiji before breaking his thumb in October and missing the rest of the year.

Things got worse in 2025, when he was named to start at No.8 against France in the final of the three-Test July series only to suffer a quad injury during the warm-up, with a subsequent head knock seeing him miss the entire international season. The 29-year-old later joined the All Blacks XV on their European tour and managed one appearance off the bench.

Now finally fit again, the Chiefs captain says he’s happy to be back in black.

“Really looking forward to getting out there and having a crack,” he said. “I don’t find there’s too much difference between the loosie roles. There’s sometimes a little bit of a difference around lineout roles and scrummaging at No.8, but on the whole they’re pretty similar.

“Barnesy tries to confuse it a little bit, but we try to keep things pretty simple and just get clear over the week on what we’re really doing and what we’re trying to achieve. The actual number on the back doesn’t have so much of an impact.”

Jacobson’s tongue-in-cheek reference to former Chiefs forwards coach Neil Barnes highlighted one of the few areas of familiarity the new coaching group has with the squad.

“I’ve worked a lot with Barnesy, so it’s been good to reconnect with him. A lot of what you guys see is exactly how it is. He’s a straight-shooter; he tells you how it is. He thinks he’s pretty funny.

“He brings a new lens to the All Blacks, but you’ve also got Mutt (Jason Ryan) there that he’s working alongside as well, who’s been there for a while now. and hes got some really good ideas, so I think they’ve been working well together.”