All Blacks in South Africa: Ardie Savea rested, Codie Taylor named tour captain
The All Blacks will head to South Africa without skipper Ardie Savea.
The inspirational leader will join the side ahead of the first test, with coach Dave Rennie opting to rest his skipper after what he said has been a gruelling 18-month schedule.
“Ardie’s been training and playing since January 2025. Obviously, he had that season with [Moana Pasifika], he went away with the All Blacks, he came to Kobe and then straight into the Nations Cup. We need to find a window where we can freshen him up. This seemed the obvious time, and so it was a pretty simple decision.”
Rennie said Savea would have wanted to be part of the entire tour, but it was paramount he take a break.
“It’s a decision that we’ve made on what we think is best for him. Ardie would plug on, but I think it comes to a head at some stage and it’s such a big series. Freshening him up prior to those four tests is essential.
“He could have come on tour, we might only have played him in one of those games, but we felt just getting his head out of footy and getting away a little bit. We trust him to do the work and turn up in good nick. He’ll arrive 10 days before the first test, so plenty of time, we think.”
In Savea’s absence, Rennie has named veteran hooker Codie Taylor as the tour captain, despite currently being under an injury cloud.
“Codie, but he’s got a huge amount of respect within this group. We’ve got a variety of leaders who we think can do the job on the day.
“I think a tour captain will deal with a hell of a lot of media and scrutiny while we’re over there. It’s not just the 80 minutes on game day.
“It’s a good chance to grow others, but I’ve got a really high opinion of Codie.”
Three new names will be joining the squad, with Hurricanes prop Siale Lauaki, Moana Pasifika loose forward Semisi Ta’eiloa and Chiefs first-five Josh Jacomb earning call ups.
“They’re life-changing phone calls for those men,” Rennie said.
For Ta’eiloa, he was so overwhelmed by the news that his body began to give out.
“When I got that phone call I couldn’t really stand up, legs were shaking, knees were shaking, I’m still processing it now, still shaken up, I got a bit emotional when I first walked in.”
Rennie said the bulldozing number eight brings “a genuine point of difference.”
“We haven’t got sort of the big powerful loose forward like him, and he’s really destructive defensively and carried Moana on his back a lot this year.”
There were a number of high-quality players not named, chief among the harshest omissions, Hurricanes skipper Du Plessis Kirifi.
“His job is to go away, keep working hard and be ready if an opportunity arises. I’d be surprised if we don’t call someone out at some stage.”
It’s been 30 years since the All Blacks clinched their first ever series in South Africa, a feat the 2026 side is drawing plenty of inspiration from.
“I had a catch-up with John Hart the week of the Irish test. We had a coffee for an hour and he shared a lot of his learnings. John talked a lot about being one team, and that was a strong thought of ours too,” Rennie said.
Now known as ‘the incomparables,’ the 1996 side overcame plenty of adversity including several injuries to front-line players, though as Josh Kronfeld and Ian Jones reflected on Monday, they were a resilient group.
“The whole one team mentality. No matter who it was,” Jones said.
Kronfeld said the injuries galvanised the squad.
“Because of the dynamic we had of the midweek team and the test team, but us being one group, people were able to come in and there would be no changes.”
Rennie understands much has changed in the three ensuing decades, but the expectations around the team have not.
“We want to win and we want to win each week. Now we’re going to be tested against a phenomenal side on their home pitch.”
