Eight changes and a 35-year-old skipper
Beauden Barrett will lead New Zealand out at the Principality Stadium on Saturday. The full-back, 35, takes the armband for the penultimate round of the Nations Championship group stage against Wales, in a starting XV that Dave Rennie has rebuilt with eight changes.
Some of that is forced. Will Jordan is injured, so Fehi Fineanganofo comes onto the wing alongside Barrett and Josh Moorby. Much of it is rotation. Jordie Barrett is rested, which hands Anton Lienert-Brown a start at 12 beside Quinn Tupaea, and Richie Mo’unga returns at fly-half with Cortez Ratima inside him.
Up front, Wallace Sititi stays at No 8 and Peter Lakai at openside. Anton Segner gets his first Test start on the blindside. Tupou Vaa’i and Fabian Holland are both left out of the 23 altogether, so Josh Lord partners Scott Barrett in the second row. Fletcher Newell is the only front-rower to keep his shirt, with Asafo Aumua and George Bower starting either side of him.
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The bench is the real story
New Zealand have named six forwards and two backs among the replacements, effectively a 6-2 split they have not used since a 2023 World Cup warm-up against the Springboks. Leicester Fainga’anuku wears 21 as back-row cover, which is the clever bit. He has spent most of his career at wing or centre, so he doubles as the emergency back if Kyle Preston and Rieko Ioane are not enough.
South Africa and England have both gone down this hybrid route. The All Blacks were slower to follow, and Rennie choosing Cardiff to try it tells you how he rates the risk of the trip. George Bell, Xavier Numia, Pasilio Tosi, Jamie Hannah and Ethan Blackadder fill out the forward replacements.
Rennie wary of Tandy’s Wales
Even with the rotation, the starting side carries 783 caps. Rennie praised his captain, calling Barrett hugely respected inside the group and saying leading the All Blacks in a Test is an honour he will not take lightly. On Wales, he pointed to steady progress under Steve Tandy and the noise of a full Principality Stadium.
Kick-off is 14:10 local time. French referee Pierre Brousset takes charge.
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