RugbyRebels

All Blacks selectors Scott Robertson, Scott Hansen and Jason Ryan have named five new caps in their 33-strong squad for the 2025 Lipovitan-D July Series against France.
The squad is as follows: (age, Super Rugby club, province, Test caps)
* denotes new caps

Hookers:
Codie Taylor (34, Crusaders / Canterbury, 96)
Samisoni Taukei’aho (27, Chiefs / Waikato, 30)
Brodie McAlister (28, Chiefs / Canterbury, *)

Props:
Ethan de Groot (26, Highlanders / Southland, 29)
Tamaiti Williams (24, Crusaders / Canterbury, 18)
Ollie Norris (25, Chiefs / Waikato, *)
Tyrel Lomax (29, Hurricanes / Tasman, 44)
Fletcher Newell (25, Crusaders / Canterbury, 22)
Pasilio Tosi (26, Hurricanes / Bay of Plenty, 7)

Locks:
Scott Barrett (31, Crusaders / Taranaki, 80) (Captain)
Patrick Tuipulotu (32, Blues / Auckland, 51)
Tupou Vaa’i (25, Chiefs / Taranaki, 38)
Fabian Holland (22, Highlanders / Otago, *)

Loose forwards:
Samipeni Finau (26, Chiefs / Waikato, 8)
Ardie Savea (31, Moana Pasifika / Wellington, 94) (Vice-Captain)
Du’Plessis Kirifi (28, Hurricanes / Wellington, *)
Wallace Sititi (22, Chiefs / North Harbour, 10)
Luke Jacobson (28, Chiefs / Waikato, 24)

Halfbacks:
Cameron Roigard (24, Hurricanes / Counties Manukau, 10)
Cortez Ratima (24, Chiefs / Waikato, 11)
Noah Hotham (22, Crusaders / Tasman, 1)

First-five eighths:
Beauden Barrett (34, Blues / Taranaki, 134)
Damian McKenzie (30, Chiefs / Waikato, 61)

Midfielders:
Anton Lienert-Brown (30, Chiefs / Waikato, 84)
Jordie Barrett (28, Hurricanes / Taranaki, 68) (Vice-Captain)
Rieko Ioane (28, Blues / Auckland, 81)
Quinn Tupaea (26, Chiefs / Waikato, 14)
Billy Proctor (26, Hurricanes / Wellington, 2)
Timoci Tavatavanawai (27, Highlanders / Tasman, *)

Outside backs:
Caleb Clarke (26, Blues / Auckland, 29)
Sevu Reece (28, Crusaders / Southland, 32)
Will Jordan (27, Crusaders / Tasman, 41)
Ruben Love (24, Hurricanes / Wellington, 1)

Injury Cover - The following players have been named as injury cover for the start of the Lipovitan-D July Series:
Christian Lio-Willie (26, Crusaders / Otago, *) for Luke Jacobson
Emoni Narawa (25, Chiefs / Bay of Plenty, 2) for Anton Lienert-Brown

Unavailable due to injury:
Asafo Aumua; Ofa Tu’ungafasi; Sam Darry; Peter Lakai; Stephen Perofeta.

So that’s the facts above. Here are my reckons:

Scott Barrett is a poor choice as captain. A blind man can see that Ardie is 10x the leader Scott is. Barrett is only a first choice player because our locking stocks are so thin.

And Ardie apart, the loose forwards are a bit one-dimensional. I’ve got time for Sititi though.

Front row is about right.

In the backs, it’s a new generation of half backs. Should be ok but having no old hand there might be an issue.

10 - fuckin ace, bro. Barrett might be a yard off top pace now but he’s still class

Midfield - seems like ALB should be older, he feels like a generation older. Good to see Proctor get the spot he has earned.

Back 3: well, I don’t see what Love brings that Shaun Stevenson doesn’t do better. We will miss Telea and I hope Clarke is proper fit.

Barrett, Tuipulotu, Vaa’i looks quite a decent core of lock options from the outside, but maybe that’s a bit superficial.

Savea is going to be off again and maybe not worth sticking with him for the captaincy? Maybe the depth isn’t there but alongside Sititi (and maybe Finau?) I would have thought that’s a decent backrow. Is Dalton out of the picture?

Any remote chance of Ioane at 13 being ousted for anything other than injury?