{"id":18294,"date":"2026-08-21T05:46:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T17:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=18294"},"modified":"2026-08-21T05:46:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T17:46:52","slug":"big-names-back-for-all-blacks-as-team-to-play-springboks-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=18294","title":{"rendered":"Big names back for All Blacks as team to play Springboks revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The All Blacks have recalled several star players with Cam Roigard, Will Jordan and Damian McKenzie named to start in this weekend’s test against the Springboks in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The trio return from injury to take their place in the side while Ardie Savea resumes the captaincy duties after being rested for the first three games of the South African tour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Savea is at No.8 with coach Dave Rennie retaining the loose forward trio from last month’s win against Ireland, with Luke Jacobson at openside and Tupou Vaa’i at blindside.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"All<\/div>
Ardie Savea scores a try against Ireland.<\/p>\n

Brett Phibbs \/ www.photosport.nz<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Codie Taylor is at hooker with Tyrel Lomax and Ethan de Groot the starting props.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There was plenty of speculation as to who would play lock and Rennie has gone with Fabian Holland and Josh Lord in the second row, with Vaa’i to provide cover.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the backs, Roigard returns at halfback with Ruben Love at first-five and Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea in the midfield.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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McKenzie has overcome the ankle injury that ruled him out of the win over the Bulls last weekend and will start at fullback, with Jordan and Josh Moorby on the wings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rennie has gone with a 5-3 split of forwards and backs on the bench, which includes front rowers Asafo Aumua, George Bower and Fletcher Newell, loose forwards Peter Lakai and Anton Segner, midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown, halfback Kyle Preston and outside back Leroy Carter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Damian<\/div>
Damian McKenzie celebrates a try with teammates.<\/p>\n

Photosport<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Rennie said they can’t wait to run out on Ellis Park on Sunday morning (NZT).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“After all the build up and anticipation, our whole touring squad is excited to get this first Test underway,” Rennie said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“We have selected a balanced mix of big match, experienced players and younger players who have earned the right to play in this first Test.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rennie said the three games against the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls in South Africa have proved invaluable as they prepare for their biggest challenge of the year so far.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“The first three franchise games have exposed our newer players to the way South African teams play and have been fantastic in helping us build combinations and develop the game we want to play.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“We know the Test series will be a huge step up. We’re well aware of what the Springboks will bring to the contest and the pressure that will come to bear. They are number one in the world, playing at their spiritual home in front of their passionate fans, so we will have to be at our very best on Saturday.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Josh<\/div>
Josh Moorby in action against the Bulls.<\/p>\n

Photosport<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Savea, Roigard and Jordan will make their first appearance of the tour in the match, while Savea and Taylor are playing their 110th Tests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It will be Savea’s 18th Test against South Africa and Taylor’s 17th.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Segner and Moorby will be playing the Springboks for the first time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Kick off is 3am NZT on Sunday morning at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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All Blacks match-day 23 (Test caps in brackets) :<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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1. Ethan de Groot (43)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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2. Codie Taylor (109)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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3. Tyrel Lomax (51)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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4. Josh Lord (15)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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5. Fabian Holland (12)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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6. Tupou Vaa’i (47)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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7. Luke Jacobson (27)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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8. Ardie Savea (109) – Captain<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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9. Cam Roigard (20)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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10. Ruben Love (8)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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11. Josh Moorby (2)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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12. Jordie Barrett (81)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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13. Quinn Tupaea (26)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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14. Will Jordan (57)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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15. Damian McKenzie (77)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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16. Asafo Aumua (22)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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17. George Bower (26)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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18. Fletcher Newell (37)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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19. Anton Segner (2)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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20. Peter Lakai (10)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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21. Kyle Preston (1)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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22. Anton Lienert-Brown (90)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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23. Leroy Carter (7)<\/p>\n

RNZ<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The All Blacks have recalled several star players with Cam Roigard, Will Jordan and Damian McKenzie named to start in this weekend’s test against the Springboks in Johannesburg. The trio return from injury to take their place in the side while Ardie Savea resumes the captaincy duties after being rested for the first three games […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[222,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-sports"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18294"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18296,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18294\/revisions\/18296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}