Ardie Savea picked as captain; 4 new caps in Dave Rennie's 1st All Blacks squad of 2026

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Dave Rennie has picked Ardie Savea to captain his first All Blacks squad selected for Nations Championship tests against France, Italy and Ireland next month.The Japan-based Savea takes over from lock Scott Barrett, who is unavailable because of a back injury but likely would have relinquished the captaincy under a new, future-focused coaching regime. Barrett led the All Blacks in 11 tests after becoming captain in 2024 under former head coach Scott Robertson.The 34-man squad announced Monday by New Zealand Rugby chairman David Kirk includes four new caps, including three from the Super Rugby-winning Hurricanes.Prop Xavier Numia and wingers Josh Moorby and Fehi Fineanganofo have all been chosen for the All Blacks for the first time, along with Germany-born backrower Anton Segner from the Auckland-based Blues.

Segner played for Germany at under-16 level before taking up a six-month scholarship at Nelson College in New Zealand. He captained the college first XV and played for the Christchurch-based Crusaders at age group level before being picked up by the Tasman Makos in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship.

2 MIN READ

1 MIN READ

3 MIN READ