Ardie Savea to captain All Blacks as star duo returns for Springboks Test at Ellis Park

All Blacks captain Ardie Savea returns to the side after some time off.

All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has named a powerful match-day 23 for Saturday’s series opener against the Springboks at Ellis Park (kickoff 5.10pm), welcoming key stars back into the fold for their first appearances of the tour.

Ardie Savea returns to captain the side from No 8, headlining a reshuffled back row alongside Luke Jacobson and Tupou Vaa’i.

Up front, the front-row unit of Ethan de Groot, Codie Taylor, and Tyrel Lomax brings 203 Test caps of set-piece experience to combat the powerful Springbok scrum, while Josh Lord and Fabian Holland form an athletic second-row pairing.

At halfback, Cam Roigard makes his tour debut alongside flyhalf Ruben Love. Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea pair up in midfield, while the back three features lethal firepower. Will Jordan makes his tour bow on the right wing opposite Josh Moorby, with Damian McKenzie slotting in at fullback to provide counter-attacking spark.

Rennie has opted for a 5–3 bench split, featuring seasoned impact in Asafo Aumua, George Bower, Fletcher Newell, and 90-cap center Anton Lienert-Brown alongside emerging talents Peter Lakai, Anton Segner, Kyle Preston, and Leroy Carter.

15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Quinn Tupaea, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Josh Moorby, 10 Ruben Love, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Ardie Savea (captain), 7 Luke Jacobson, 6 Tupou Vaa’i, 5 Fabian Holland, 4 Josh Lord, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot.

Replacements: 16 Asafo Aumua, 17 George Bower, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Anton Segner, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Leroy Carter.