Codie Taylor will captain the All Blacks against the Wallabies next month, and two familiar names are back in the black jersey for the first time this year. Head coach Dave Rennie today named a 34-man squad for the two-test Bledisloe Cup series, with former captain Scott Barrett and loose forward Shannon Frizell both recalled.
The series opens at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday 10 October at 7.10pm, and the second test is at Accor Stadium in Sydney a week later on 17 October at 6pm New Zealand time, according to New Zealand Rugby. New Zealand has held the Bledisloe Cup since 2003.
Taylor, the 35-year-old Crusaders hooker, gets the job because the two obvious leaders in the loose forwards are hurt. Ardie Savea (shoulder) and Luke Jacobson (elbow) are both expected to miss the rest of the season, RugbyPass reported. Barrett is back in the squad but Rennie has kept the captaincy with Taylor.
“To lead this team is a massive honour, and I know I’m lucky to have a lot of good leaders around me who make that job easier,” Taylor said, RNZ reported.
Barrett’s return is quick. The 88-test lock had back surgery about four months ago and had not played since the All Blacks met Wales last November. He came through 50 minutes for Taranaki in the NPC on Sunday, and that was enough for the selectors.
Frizell’s road back has been longer. He has not played for New Zealand since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final in Paris. After that tournament he joined Toshiba Brave Lupus in Japan, then came home and re-signed with New Zealand Rugby this year. A hamstring injury slowed his comeback, but 1News reported that strong recent games for Tasman, including a full 80 minutes against Bay of Plenty, earned his place.
“It’s great to welcome back Scott Barrett and Shannon Frizell,” Rennie said. “Scott has had a challenging stretch on the sidelines, and we’re thrilled to have his experience and leadership back in the group. Shannon brings plenty of Test experience and physical impact to our loose forwards.”
The injury list is long. As well as Savea and Jacobson, the All Blacks are without Ruben Love (ankle), Patrick Tuipulotu (calf), Anton Lienert-Brown (knee), Billy Proctor (shoulder), Caleb Clarke (shoulder) and Ollie Norris (knee). Eight players missing is a big hole in any squad, and it is concentrated in the loose forwards and midfield.
Several players from the tour of South Africa have also dropped out, including Sam Darry, Siale Lauaki, Saula Ma’u, Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa, Leicester Fainga’anuku and Emoni Narawa. New Zealand Rugby said 31 players were kept from the original 44-man squad for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, with Richie Mo’unga also included after joining that tour as an injury replacement.
The only uncapped player is Chiefs first five-eighth Josh Jacomb, 25, who played two non-test tour games in South Africa.
That tour is the backdrop to this selection. The All Blacks lost the four-test series to the Springboks 3-1, finishing with a 43-28 defeat in Baltimore in mid-September, RNZ reported at the time. Rennie said today the tour still had value.
“We’ve learnt a lot about our game and about ourselves, and it gave a lot of guys valuable time in the jersey,” he said.
Australia arrive in good form. At the weekend in Perth the Wallabies beat the same Springboks 42-38, holding on at the end with only 11 men on the field after four yellow cards in the last 10 minutes, RNZ reported. It was their sixth game in a row without a loss under new coach Les Kiss. South Africa made 13 changes for that match, but a win over the world’s top-ranked side still gives Australia real belief heading to Eden Park, where the All Blacks have not lost to the Wallabies since 1986.
The selection also keeps winger Fehi Fineanganofo in the frame. RNZ reported today he has put off a move to England to chase a place at next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia.
The squad was picked by Rennie and fellow selectors Sir Graham Henry and Neil Barnes. Here it is in full.
Forwards
Codie Taylor (captain), Asafo Aumua, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Ethan de Groot, George Bower, Xavier Numia, Tyrel Lomax, Fletcher Newell, Pasilio Tosi, Scott Barrett, Josh Lord, Fabian Holland, Tupou Vaa’i, Simon Parker, Shannon Frizell, Anton Segner, Ethan Blackadder, Peter Lakai, Wallace Sititi
Backs
Cam Roigard, Cortez Ratima, Kyle Preston, Richie Mo’unga, Josh Jacomb, Jordie Barrett, Quinn Tupaea, Timoci Tavatavanawai, Rieko Ioane, Fehi Fineanganofo, Leroy Carter, Josh Moorby, Will Jordan, Beauden Barrett, Damian McKenzie
There is a lot of experience in that list. Beauden and Jordie Barrett, Will Jordan, Mo’unga, Taylor and Tyrel Lomax have all played in World Cups, and Scott Barrett adds a lock who has captained the side. What the squad lacks, with Savea and Jacobson gone, is a proven number eight. Wallace Sititi, Peter Lakai, Anton Segner and Frizell are likely to be fighting over the back-row spots, and how Rennie fits them together will be the big selection call before 10 October.
With the Rugby World Cup in Australia now less than a year away, these two tests are also a chance for New Zealand to reset after a bruising series in South Africa, and for Australia to show its recent run is more than a hot streak.
Is Codie Taylor the right choice as captain with Scott Barrett back, and who would you start at number eight at Eden Park? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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