{"id":18404,"date":"2026-09-03T05:58:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T17:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=18404"},"modified":"2026-09-03T05:58:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T17:58:38","slug":"all-blacks-set-for-changes-for-third-test-against-springboks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=18404","title":{"rendered":"All Blacks set for changes for third test against Springboks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The All Blacks team is named on Thursday night (NZT) and it seems likely there will be a few\u00a0changes for the third test<\/a>\u00a0against the Springboks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The four-match series is tied 1-1 but this weekend’s test in Johannesburg, the last on South African soil, is effectively a series decider, with the final game in the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Both teams are\u00a0desperate to win<\/a>\u00a0and All Blacks coach Dave Rennie will no doubt pick what he thinks is his strongest possible side and injuries could play a role in his selections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If prop Ethan de Groot has recovered from a knee injury and the concussion that kept him out of the second test he should come back into the starting side in place of George Bower, who could drop to the bench and push Xavier Numia out of the matchday 23.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Ethan<\/div>
If Ethan de Groot is available he’s likely to start.<\/p>\n

Photosport NZ Ltd \/ www.photosport.nz<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Hooker Codie Taylor started the first two tests and may not have had as much of an impact on the games as he would have liked and there’s a chance he gets a rest this weekend. If he does Samisoni Taukeiaho could be set to start in the front row.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The All Blacks lineout struggled at times last week and Tuakeiaho is generally regarded as a better lineout thrower than Asafo Aumua, which could get him the nod in the run on side.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That means the coaches can have Aumua coming off the bench, from where he’s provided palpable impact in the first two tests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Like de Groot, if Josh Lord has recovered from his concussion he could slot back in at lock alongside Fabian Holland, with Tupou Vaa’i potentially moving back to blindside flanker.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Loose forward Peter Lakai has been impressive off the bench and could come into the starting XV in place of Luke Jacobson, who started at openside flanker in the first two tests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jacobson has played a lot of minutes in the last couple of weeks and was dealing with some illness before last week’s loss in Cape Town.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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They might play Savea at openside and put Lakai at No.8, but the loose forward trio could be Savea, Lakai and Vaa’i.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Peter<\/div>
Peter Lakai could be called into the starting XV.<\/p>\n

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

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The starting backline is likely to remain the same, with Cam Roigard and Ruben Love in the halves, Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea in the midfield and Damian McKenzie, Will Jordan and Leroy Carter in the back three.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There could possibly be a change in the outside back cover on the bench as the All Blacks seek a point of difference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That could mean Josh Moorby loses his place in the matchday 23 to either Rieko Ioane or Fehi Fineanganofo.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It would be a tough call on Moorby who’s done nothing wrong. Fineanganofo has more of a power game than his Hurricanes teammate who may pay the price for being too similar to Carter and Jordan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Possible All Blacks team for the third test:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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

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2. Samisoni Taukeiaho<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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3. Tyrel Lomax<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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4. Fabian Holland<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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5. Josh Lord<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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6. Tupou Vaa’i<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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7. Peter Lakai<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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8. Ardie Savea (C)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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9. Cam Roigard<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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10.\u202fRuben Love<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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11.\u202fLeroy Carter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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12. Jordie Barrett<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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13. Quinn Tupaea<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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14.\u202fWill Jordan<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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15.\u202fDamian McKenzie<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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16. Asafo Aumua<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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17. George Bower<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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18. Fletcher Newell<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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19. Luke Jacobson<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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20. Simon Parker<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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21.\u202fKyle Preston<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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22.\u202fAnton Lienert-Brown<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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23.\u202fFehi Fineanganofo<\/p>\n

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

The All Blacks team is named on Thursday night (NZT) and it seems likely there will be a few\u00a0changes for the third test\u00a0against the Springboks. The four-match series is tied 1-1 but this weekend’s test in Johannesburg, the last on South African soil, is effectively a series decider, with the final game in the United […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18405,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[222,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18404","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\/18404","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=18404"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18406,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18404\/revisions\/18406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}