All Blacks lose Savea, Jacobson and Tupaea to injury ahead of Baltimore Springboks decider

New Zealand will face South Africa in Baltimore on Saturday 12 September without nine squad members after a wave of injuries and squad reductions following their 29-24 defeat to the Springboks in Soweto.

Head coach Dave Rennie confirmed post-match that Ardie Savea has been ruled out of the fourth and final Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series with a shoulder injury. Rennie also indicated that midfielder Quinn Tupaea is unlikely to feature after picking up an MCL injury in the second half of the Soweto clash. Vice-captain Luke Jacobson was subsequently confirmed absent with an elbow tendon issue, bringing the number of injured starters to three.

Joining Savea, Tupaea, and Jacobson on the flight home from Johannesburg are Josh Jacomb, Siale Lauaki, Saula Ma’u, Bradley Slater, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, and Cortez Ratima. Of the additional six departures, only Ratima’s return is injury-forced — a knee problem had already kept him out of all three Tests on tour.

Slater had featured in two of the midweek matches as cover for George Bell, who sustained a calf injury in the opening week of the tour. Ma’u made his All Blacks debut against the Lions at Ellis Park, impressing off the bench during a late comeback, while Tu’ungafasi was called into the squad as cover when Ethan de Groot was concussed but missed his opportunity to feature due to illness.

Jacomb, part of the original 44-man touring party, made three cameo appearances in the black jersey and started at fly-half against the Bulls in Pretoria.

Rennie’s trimmed squad of 36 for M&T Bank Stadium retains experienced backs Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga, Jordie Barrett, Rieko Ioane, and Will Jordan, with Cam Roigard leading the halfback options. The series is level at one win apiece with one draw, making Saturday’s Test the decisive contest of the 2026 Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry schedule.