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Veterans return for All Blacks as team to play France named

Ardie Savea of New Zealand reacts during the Autumn Nations Series 2024 match between England and New Zealand All Blacks at Allianz Stadium on November 2, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

The All Blacks have named their team to face France with veterans Codie Taylor and Beauden Barrett returning after missing the Ireland Test under return to play protocols.

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Both veterans resume their starting roles at hooker and first five-eighth, with Asafo Aumua and Damian McKenzie moving to the bench.

Robertson has also opted for a back row re-shuffle with regular openside Sam Cane injured. Ardie Savea will start in the No 7 jersey for the first time this year, with Wallace Sititi moving to No 8 and Samipeni Finau getting a start at blindside. Hurricanes flanker Peter Lakai has been named as the loose forward reserve.

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In another switch, halfback Cam Roigard will wear the No 9 jersey for the first time this year to partner Barrett in the halves with Cortez Ratima moving to the finishing role on the reserves.

Sevu Reece comes back into the side to replace Mark Tele’a who has been ruled out with a hand injury.

“It has been special to be here in Paris during Armistice Day,” Robertson said.

“We have honoured those commemorations as a team and also acknowledged the significance of the Dave Gallaher Trophy, named after one of our greatest All Black Captains who led the ‘Originals’ in the first ever Test match against France, and lost his life 11 years later in World War I.

“This is a trophy we would love to hold, and the players are prepared to take their opportunity in Paris this Saturday night.”

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Fixture
Internationals
France
30 - 29
Full-time
New Zealand
All Stats and Data

All Blacks team to face France:

1. Tamaiti Williams
2. Codie Taylor
3. Tyrel Lomax
4. Scott Barrett (c)
5. Tupou Vaa’i
6. Samipeni Finau
7. Ardie Savea
8. Wallace Sititi
9. Cam Roigard
10. Beauden Barrett
11. Caleb Clarke
12. Jordie Barrett
13. Rieko Ioane
14. Sevu Reece
15. Will Jordan

Reserves

16. Asafo Aumua
17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi
18. Pasilio Tosi
19. Patrick Tuipulotu
20. Peter Lakai
21. Cortez Ratima
22. Anton Lienert-Brown
23. Damian McKenzie

Watch the exclusive reveal-all episode of Walk the Talk with Ardie Savea as he chats to Jim Hamilton about the RWC 2023 experience, life in Japan, playing for the All Blacks and what the future holds. Watch now for free on RugbyPass TV

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Comments

34 Comments
D
DrinkAwayTheConcussion 5 days ago

I am dying to see Samipeni deliver the goods. Let’s go bruv.

d
d 5 days ago

I've been a DMac doubter, but I thought he played well for the full game against Ireland, supposedly our toughest opponent yet.


So if BB is first choice, what does he bring? He didn't seem very accurate against England; or was their pressure better than Ireland?


and Reece now seems to be too error prone, so why not keep DMac at 10 and let him kick those penalties, slip BB back to FB where he is a proven reliable defender, and put WJ on the wing instead of Reece?

T
Toaster 5 days ago

I think DMac will come in at 10 and the other two shift as you say

B
BM 5 days ago

He'll bring the best understanding of French m.o. for over half the game d & then hand over to D Mac to finish ....called teamwork!🤩 and Sevu might even surprise you! ...or Razor might make your last moves instead of removing BB's experience of France before final whistle!😎

B
BA 6 days ago

Reckon Lakai will be like a duck to water he kinda just plays like he has been there before at every step in his career

K
KB 6 days ago

At last no Mackenzie who is not a first five.

J
JW 6 days ago

It's a bit of a mess but LETS GOOO!!!

B
Bruiser 6 days ago

This is our strongest team of the year. Its taken to the Euro tour but we have a impactful bench that can bring the game home

M
MM 5 days ago

Its a strong team but with Talea injured and unavailable its not our strongest team. Sevu Reece has been highly ineffective this season.

J
JW 6 days ago

Paddy would need to be starting. EDG would also need to be selected under the same premise as the rest of the players.

H
Head high tackle 6 days ago

I think last weeks team was stronger except for Taylor. Bench was also stronger combo wise. How DeGroot has gone from best at WC last year, to not in side without even playing this tour, is astounding and Savea hasnt played 7 regularly since Cane became Captain in 2020.

B
Bull Shark 6 days ago

Thats the best NZ team right there (barring injuries).


Dmac off the bench makes sense. BB to kick the ball around a bit to (hopefully) tire out those big French forwards.


But we also know the French just lurv a good kick fest. So it could be boring for a bit. Interspersed with some ridiculous tries from either side.


Dupont, who starts this game provisionally rated 9/10 by the Rugbypass people, is going to need attention.


My heart says NZ but my bum says France. Hopefully I’m wrong. And/or it’s tight.


The game. Not my bum. My bum is tight.

T
Toaster 5 days ago

Thanks for the clarification 😂

G
GL 6 days ago

Hope BB can handle the rush defense

T
Tk 6 days ago

Ratima didn't have a great game Vs Ireland, Roigard deserves the start, but I'm really glad Ratima stays in the 23 rather than going for TJ.

B
BA 6 days ago

Strong team … respect the dude but looking forward reckon we can get some more impact from that midfield bench cover ALB has been given many chances has been solid but you know in 2 years I can see Joey Nanu in that SBW role

D
DrinkAwayTheConcussion 6 days ago

I find Cortez a bit quiet chat wise; TJ and Nuggy were very vocal, knew how to draw attention to players killing our ball and that sort of thing.

It’s just experience.

T
Tim 6 days ago

In Ratima's defence he didn't get much protection from his forwards. Also the Irish forwards spent a considerable amount of time on the NZ side of the ruck. Fair play if you get away with it. By the time Roigard was on the pitch the ref was wise to the Irish cynical play.

L
LRB 6 days ago

Good looking powerful team who are very capable of beating the French. If they 'click' it should be very entertaining.

B
Bull Shark 6 days ago

I think this will be the most talked about game of the year.

S
SadersMan 6 days ago

Great selections.


Still no de Groot but that's what happens when you give a sucker a break.


And good luck to Finau, the #6 is his for the taking if he can show power, physicality & a solid tackle technique that keeps him card free. Being a tall, big, guy, who hits hard, he needs to be careful.


Hopefully, this is the game where the ABs get that complete performance that we all know is within reach.

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J
JW 1 hour ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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