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The 2026 Super Rugby finalists, the Hurricanes and Chiefs, dominate the match 23 for the All Blacks first tour match in South Africa in 30 years.
All Blacks
The Hurricanes and Chiefs provide 14 players, although seasoned Chiefs inside centre/second five eight Anton Lienert-Brown did not play for the Chiefs in the most recent Super Rugby campaign, having spent a season in Japan. He has returned to the Chiefs for next season.
All Blacks coach Dave Rennie has picked Test veterans Beauden Barrett (No 10), Rieko Ioane (11) and Lienert-Brown (12) in his backline and balanced his pack selections with relative newbies and a few seasoned Test players.
Every player in the starting XV has played Test rugby for the All Blacks and 21 of the 23 are Test players.
Rennie has relied heavily on the Super Rugby form of the two best teams in the competition, with the Hurricanes winning a one-sided final 60-5.
Rennie’s Test All Blacks won all three home Tests in the Nations Championship, beating France, Italy and Ireland.
Only 7 of the Ireland match 23 are selected against the Stormers.
Stormers XV compared with Ireland
| No. | Stormers selection | Ireland selection |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Bower | Did not play |
| 2 | Samisoni Taukei’aho | Did not play |
| 3 | Pasilio Tosi | Did not play |
| 4 | Fabian Holland | Did not play |
| 5 | Patrick Tuipulotu | Started No 5 |
| 6 | Simon Parker | Did not play |
| 7 | Peter Lakai | Reserve No 20 |
| 8 | Wallace Sititi | Did not play |
| 9 | Cortez Ratima | Reserve No 21 |
| 10 | Beauden Barrett | Did not play |
| 11 | Rieko Ioane | Did not play |
| 12 | Anton Lienert-Brown | Reserve No 22 |
| 13 | Billy Proctor | Did not play |
| 14 | Leroy Carter | Did not play |
| 15 | Josh Moorby | Started No 11 |
Stormers reserves compared with Ireland
| No. | Stormers selection | Ireland selection |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Asafo Aumua | Reserve No 16 |
| 17 | Ollie Norris | Did not play |
| 18 | Siale Lauaki | Did not play |
| 19 | Sam Darry | Did not play |
| 20 | Ethan Blackadder | Did not play |
| 21 | Kyle Preston | Did not play |
| 22 | Josh Jacomb | Did not play |
| 23 | Caleb Clarke | Reserve No 23 |
The 16 brought into the match 23 against the Stormers
George Bower, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Pasilio Tosi, Fabian Holland, Simon Parker, Wallace Sititi, Beauden Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Billy Proctor, Leroy Carter, Ollie Norris, Siale Lauaki, Sam Darry, Ethan Blackadder, Kyle Preston and Josh Jacomb.
The seven retained from Ireland
- Patrick Tuipulotu: starts → starts
- Josh Moorby: starts → starts, moving from No 11 to No 15
- Peter Lakai: reserve → starts
- Cortez Ratima: reserve → starts
- Anton Lienert-Brown: reserve → starts
- Asafo Aumua: reserve → reserve
- Caleb Clarke: reserve → reserve
So 10 of the Stormers starting XV did not feature at all against Ireland, while another three starters Lakai, Ratima and Lienert-Brown were on the bench against Ireland. Only Tuipulotu and Moorby start both matches.
| All Blacks match 23 | Test caps |
|---|---|
| Starting XV (1–15) | 563 |
| Reserves (16–23) | 85 |
| Match 23 total | 648 |
Siale Lauaki and Josh Jacomb are uncapped
All Blacks starting XV
| No. | Player | Super Rugby club |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Bower | Crusaders |
| 2 | Samisoni Taukei’aho | Chiefs |
| 3 | Pasilio Tosi | Hurricanes |
| 4 | Fabian Holland | Highlanders |
| 5 | Patrick Tuipulotu (c) | Blues |
| 6 | Simon Parker | Chiefs |
| 7 | Peter Lakai | Hurricanes |
| 8 | Wallace Sititi | Chiefs |
| 9 | Cortez Ratima | Chiefs |
| 10 | Beauden Barrett | Blues |
| 11 | Rieko Ioane | Blues |
| 12 | Anton Lienert-Brown | Chiefs |
| 13 | Billy Proctor | Hurricanes |
| 14 | Leroy Carter | Chiefs |
| 15 | Josh Moorby | Hurricanes |
Reserves
| No. | Player | Super Rugby club |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Asafo Aumua | Hurricanes |
| 17 | Ollie Norris | Chiefs |
| 18 | Siale Lauaki | Hurricanes |
| 19 | Sam Darry | Blues |
| 20 | Ethan Blackadder | Crusaders |
| 21 | Kyle Preston | Crusaders |
| 22 | Josh Jacomb | Chiefs |
| 23 | Caleb Clarke | Blues |
Match 23 representation
| Super Rugby club | Players |
|---|---|
| Chiefs | 8 |
| Hurricanes | 6 |
| Blues | 5 |
| Crusaders | 3 |
| Highlanders | 1 |
| Moana Pasifika | 0 |
| TOTAL | 23 |