Rennie drops Taylor from All Blacks squad entirely for series-deciding Soweto Test

Dave Rennie has dropped Test centurion Codie Taylor from the All Blacks’ matchday 23 entirely for the series-deciding third Test against South Africa at FNB Stadium in Soweto, handing the starting hooker jersey to Asafo Aumua. Sam Darry and Peter Lakai also come into the starting XV as Rennie reshapes his forward pack while keeping his backline unchanged.

Aumua’s promotion follows a string of eye-catching performances off the bench in the 2026 Test season, and he will be supported by Samisoni Taukei’aho, who makes his first appearance of the series from the bench. It is a notable omission for Taylor, a player with over 100 Test caps, who misses out on selection altogether rather than dropping to a reserve role.

“Codie’s been great for us; we think Asafo’s been excellent impact, and Soni’s played really well in those lead-up games, so it’s about sharing the load,” Rennie said at Thursday’s press conference in Johannesburg. “Asafo will get a lot more footy, which will be great. That’s the thinking around hooker.”

Darry earns his place in the starting lineup having been overlooked for both opening Tests on tour, with Fabian Holland shifting to the bench. Lakai, 23, makes just his second start of the season at loosehead, replacing Simon Parker at No.6, while Wallace Sititi is named among the replacements for only his third Test appearance of the year.

Rennie confirmed that locks Josh Lord and Ethan de Groot, both of whom had been following head injury protocols after sitting out last week, were not considered for selection despite being available. Lord returned to training on Thursday but Rennie cited a history of concussion as reason for caution, while de Groot also had a knee complaint.

“Josh Lord had his first day back at training today, so we decided not to consider him; he’s had a bit of a history of concussion, so we’re going to err on the side of caution,” the coach explained. “Sam Darry hasn’t played in the Test series but has a massive engine and suits how we want to play, so that’ll be handy at altitude.”

Rennie resisted the temptation to rotate his backline despite considering it, pointing to the cohesion the group has built over recent weeks. “With the backs, it’s a lot about continuity, and we’ve got a group of guys who have played quite a bit of footy together recently,” he said. “You can see when we’re accurate and getting that right, we’re finding a lot of space. So we’re keen to keep them together.”

The All Blacks head into the Soweto fixture with the series still alive, and Rennie framed the selection overhaul as a deliberate depth play. “I said a couple of weeks ago that it was going to take more than 23 guys to win this series,” he said.