Rennie reshuffles a pack that had been working
Dave Rennie named his All Blacks side for Saturday’s third Test against the Springboks earlier today, and the headline call was a demotion. Fabian Holland, who had started and impressed in both previous Tests of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, drops to the bench.
Peter Lakai takes over at blindside flanker, his first start of the series after two appearances off the bench. Simon Parker, who had held that shirt, falls out of the 23 entirely. Wallace Sititi joins Holland among the replacements.
The reshuffle is not driven purely by form. Tupou Vaa’i stays in the number four jersey rather than shifting to the loose trio, and that decision cascades through the rest of the pack.
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A fiftieth cap and two injury absences
Vaa’i earns his 50th Test cap at FNB Stadium, a milestone Rennie leaned on when explaining the selection. “Tupes is a top man. It’ll be a special day for him and his family and additional motivation for us,” the coach said.
Alongside him, Sam Darry finally gets a run in the second row. Darry started the opening two Tests of 2026 against France and Italy, then missed the following three internationals. He returns because Josh Lord is still unavailable after the head injury he picked up at Ellis Park.
Ethan de Groot, involved in the same clash of heads a fortnight ago, is also out. George Bower keeps the loosehead jersey with Tyrel Lomax at tighthead. Asafo Aumua starts at hooker with Codie Taylor rested, and Samisoni Taukei’aho covers the position from the bench.
Backline untouched despite the Cape Town wobble
Ruben Love keeps the number 10 shirt after a flat performance at DHL Stadium, and Rennie resisted the temptation to bring Richie Mo’unga back into the squad. The entire back division is unchanged: Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea in midfield, Damian McKenzie, Will Jordan and Leroy Carter behind them.
Ardie Savea captains from number eight next to Cam Roigard. Rieko Ioane misses out again as Rennie sticks with a 5-3 bench split, Kyle Preston, Anton Lienert-Brown and Josh Moorby providing the backline cover.
The series stands at one apiece. Kick-off in Johannesburg is 17:10 local on Saturday, with Nika Amashukeli refereeing. As Rennie put it, the side that fails to win this weekend cannot win the series.
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