'Want more out of him': Rennie's message to overlooked All Black

As the All Blacks look to bounce back from a tough tour in South Africa, coach Dave Rennie and the selection panel sprang a few surprises in their squad for Saturday night’s Bledisloe Cup test in Auckland.

As the New Zealand side head to Eden Park, a venue they have made a fortress and are unbeaten at in 53 tests, against a Wallabies side buoyed by a win over the Springboks in their most recent outing, several changes were made to the matchday squad.

Among them, veteran tighthead prop Tyrel Lomax was left out of the matchday 23, with Fletcher Newell getting the start and Pasilio Tosi providing cover on the bench.

Lomax, 30, was a consistent figure in the All Blacks’ line-up on the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour. He played in all four tests against the Springboks, starting the three in South Africa before being deployed off the bench in Baltimore, as well as starting the tour game against the Bulls in Pretoria.

Addressing the move this week, Rennie said it was a form-based decision.

“Yeah, look, we just want more out of him.

Tryel Lomax played all four tests against the Springboks, starting three of them. Photo / Smartframe

“He’s got a clear message around what we need to see. He’s worked really hard this week and [I’m] sure that we’ll get a response next time he gets an opportunity.”

The decision sees the All Blacks shift away from a combination that was becoming established. However, it’s now an opportunity for Tosi, who did not play any of the four tests against the Springboks but featured in three of the four tour games.

In 20 appearances for the All Blacks – 17 tests and three games – the 28-year-old has primarily been deployed from the bench, with four starts to his name.

The initial matchday squad, announced internally on Monday, had to be changed after first five-eighths Richie Mo’unga was ruled out of the two-test series with a calf injury.

After All Blacks management reshuffled the deck, Damian McKenzie was named in the No 10 jersey over Beauden Barrett and Josh Jacomb, with Barrett filling the void at fullback left by McKenzie’s secondment.

Damian McKenzie will start at first five-eighths for the All Blacks against the Wallabies at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport

“Damian’s trained a lot there for us. Beauden’s predominantly trained at 15. When we were in Africa, Beauden started against the Lions and the Bulls at 15,” Rennie said.

“Both those players are interchangeable. They both spend a lot of time in the backfield and also, the way we play, having a 15 who is a real playmaker suits.

“Yeah, we could have played them the other way around, but they’ll both end up in playmaker roles and will both end up in the backfield.”

All three Barrett brothers will start in Saturday night’s clash, with Scott Barrett also returning to the starting line-up in his first test appearance of the year. He had been out of action for about 10 months before returning for Taranaki a fortnight ago, playing about 90 minutes across two matches for the amber and blacks.

He joins Josh Lord in the engine room as Tupou Vaa’i continues to operate at blindside flanker. There was no room for Fabian Holland on the bench, with loose forwards Shannon Frizell and Anton Segner named.

While Rennie wouldn’t go into detail on the most contentious areas of squad selection, he said it highlighted that there were a lot of tough decisions.

“Guys who missed out are very close and that’s a positive, we think. We’re starting to grow a bit of depth, so some players were unlucky to miss out.”

Among those tough decisions, Rennie said, was selection at lock and ultimately the call to leave Holland out of the match day squad.

“That was one of the tough decisions. [We’re] obviously really happy with how Josh Lord’s gone too. He had limited involvement in South Africa after getting knocked out and had a 12-day stand-down, which took him out of test two and three and coming [in] via the bench.

“We’re lucky there, we’ve got some really good options and so he’s unlucky to miss out.”

All Blacks v Wallabies line-ups

All Blacks: 1. Ethan de Groot, 2. Codie Taylor (c), 3. Fletcher Newell, 4. Scott Barrett, 5. Josh Lord, 6. Tupou Vaa’i, 7. Peter Lakai, 8. Wallace Sititi, 9. Cam Roigard, 10. Damian McKenzie, 11. Leroy Carter, 12. Jordie Barrett, 13. Quinn Tupaea, 14. Will Jordan, 15. Beauden Barrett.

Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua, 17. George Bower, 18. Pasilio Tosi, 19. Shannon Frizell, 20. Anton Segner, 21. Kyle Preston, 22. Rieko Ioane, 23. Josh Moorby.

Wallabies: 1. Angus Bell, 2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Jeremy Williams, 5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Fraser McReight, 8. Harry Wilson (c), 9. Ryan Lonergan, 10. Ben Donaldson, 11. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12. Len Ikitau, 13. Isaac Henry, 14. Max Jorgensen, 15. Tom Wright.

Reserves: 16. Josh Nasser, 17. Aidan Ross, 18. Massimo De Lutiis, 19. Lachlan Shaw, 20. Nick Champion de Crespigny, 21. Tate McDermott, 22. Declan Meredith, 23. Harry Potter.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.