mens
international
Dave Rennie shed light All black people‘ Selection plan No.10 for the Greatest Rivalry tour after a change in position was announced for the first time this year. The coach turned to experience for the decisive series in Baltimore, dropping Ruben Love in favor of Richie Mo’unga and benching Beauden Barrett.
Mo’unga served as the All Blacks’ game starter in a hotly contested midweek match against Lions in Johannesburg three weeks ago, in his first minutes in the black jersey since 2023 Rugby World Cup the final, albeit non-Test match. Having regained his own New Zealand After three years in Japan, the 32-year-old will now wear the famous black number 10 shirt in the international arena for the first time in 1,050 days.
Rennie told reporters in Baltimore this week that Mo’unga’s chance had been decided before the third game of the Test series, with rising star Ruben Love given advance notice.
“We talked about it a few weeks ago, that regardless of the result in Soweto, whether we came here 2-1 or lost 2-1, we were going to start Richie,” explained Rennie.
“He’s been around for a while, he’s got a really clear understanding of the game we want to play. We want to give him that opportunity.”
“Ruben has done really well; he’s played the first six Tests of the year. When I spoke to him, I pointed out that last week was probably the biggest Test the All Blacks had played since the World Cup final, and we trusted him to steer the ship in front of three more experienced 10s. That underlines where we see him.
“But we want to give Richie a hard time and he’s prepared very well this week.”
Meanwhile, all-time All Blacks fullback Beauden Barrett has had to bide his time to start the 2026 Test campaign, missing out on selection in all six international games in the Dave Rennie era so far, with the coach admitting it has been a “difficult” time for him.
However, the decision on the biggest rivalry in Baltimore will bring with it the opportunity for Barrett to start his 145th Test, just three short of Richie McCaw, who is second on the all-time list behind Sam Whitelock with 153.
Rennie said Barrett’s name had come up “constantly” in the selection debates, but this final Test of the series against the world champions Springboks had long been seen as the right moment to “make those changes”. By naming him in the No.23 shirt, Rennie says Barrett has an opportunity “to make a bit of a statement and put a bit of pressure on us long-term, in terms of selection.”
He went on to explain the composition of the All Blacks bench, which consists of Kyle Preston and Rieko Ioane with Barrett as back-line reserves.
“We just felt the mix was good. Obviously, with Rieks on the bench, he covers the middle and outside back, and with KP covering the nine, it gives us a chance to have real 10/15 cover if we lose someone,” Rennie said.
“It’s been tough for Beauden; he’s been on the sidelines for the first six Tests this year. He’s had a phenomenal contribution to the group, and he’s been training really well. I thought he played really well at 15 for us, so that’s probably where he’ll get his crash at the weekend.
“But he’s been great, so it’s great to give him a chance.”
The All Blacks reduced the size of their squad for the final Test of the RGR series, and while young playmaker Josh Jacomb was one of the casualties, the selectors kept four established 10s available: Love, Mo’unga, Barrett and Damian McKenzie. The squad will have to scale back again for the final campaign of the year, which consists of Bledisloe Cup tests and the Nations Championship, but Rennie believes the All Blacks can “potentially” still carry all four players.
McKenzie played exclusively at full-back under Rennie, while Barrett watched from the stands, but the coach didn’t let the conversation become all about Love versus Mo’unga for the number 10 shirt.
“Beauden is not out of the question from a 10 point of view and obviously Damian plays 10. So between those guys, we feel we have really good depth at 10 and 15,” he insisted.
“There’s no doubt that Richie has come in and been great. I think you asked Ruben about the help he’s had, Beauden has been great for him, and Damian and Richie. That’s the idea; to win, we need everyone to do well. And while they’re competing against each other, they’re also helping each other grow. Richie gets a lot of experience.
“Ruben was really smart; he’s around a lot of those guys and he talked a lot of trash. That’s really good for our group.”
