Dave Rennie confirms Richie Mo'unga was always going to start the fourth Rugby's Greatest Rivalry Test against the Springboks in Baltimore, regardless of the series result in Soweto — a decision made several weeks ago.
Mo'unga's return to Test rugby is his first since he started the 2023 World Cup final against South Africa, with his eligibility gap stemming from his move to Toshiba Brave Lupus in Japan. His re-signing with Canterbury, the Crusaders and NZ Rugby restored that eligibility, though he had to represent Canterbury before becoming available for the touring squad. He was initially omitted, came in as an injury replacement for Billy Proctor, and started the midweek match against a South African URC side before earning the Test nod.
Ruben Love, who started all six of New Zealand's Tests this year, drops out of the matchday 23 entirely. Rennie was at pains to frame it as a reward rather than a demotion, pointing to last week's Soweto clash — which he described as probably the All Blacks' biggest Test since the World Cup final — as evidence of how highly the coaching staff regard Love.
"Last week was probably the biggest Test the All Blacks have played since the World Cup final, and we trusted him to run the ship ahead of three more experienced 10s," Rennie said.
Beauden Barrett earns his first Test cap of the year and is expected to start at fullback in Baltimore, though Rennie was explicit that the positional assignment carries no long-term implications. "Beauden is not out of the reckoning from a 10 point of view, and obviously Damian plays 10 too," he said, citing the collective depth across Mo'unga, Love, Barrett, McKenzie and uncapped tour performer Josh Jacomb.
Rennie framed the competition in the position group as mutually beneficial, noting that Barrett had been a significant resource for Love during the series.