Codie Taylor to captain injury-hit All Blacks as Scott Barrett returns with 50 minutes behind him

Codie Taylor will captain the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup. Earlier in the Greatest Rivalry series against South Africa, he was dropped for the Test that decided it.

Dave Rennie named a 34-man squad on Tuesday for Tests against the Wallabies at Eden Park in Auckland on 10 October and at Accor Stadium in Sydney on 17 October. Taylor, 35, takes over from Ardie Savea, who is out after shoulder surgery. A CNA report said Savea could miss the rest of the year.

The NZ Herald reported that Taylor was left out of the third Test against the Springboks in Soweto. He came back as captain a week later in Baltimore after Savea left the tour with a shoulder injury. New Zealand lost that match 43-28 and the Greatest Rivalry series 3-1.

"To lead this team is a massive honour, and I know I'm lucky to have a lot of good leaders around me who make that job easier," Taylor said, as quoted by Planet Rugby. "Ardie has done an outstanding job for us this year and we're all gutted he's not with us. We'll be doing everything we can to make him proud."

The bigger gamble is at lock. Scott Barrett is back after a long spell out that included a sabbatical and back surgery. CNA put the break at 10 months. His only rugby of 2026 is just over 50 minutes for Taranaki in the NPC last weekend. The first Test is less than two weeks away.

The Herald said Barrett takes the place of Patrick Tuipulotu, who has a calf strain, and that Sam Darry has been dropped. This is Barrett's first All Blacks selection since he lost the captaincy after Scott Robertson left at the start of the year.

Shannon Frizell is also back. His last Test was the 2023 World Cup final. He came home from Japan, re-signed with New Zealand Rugby earlier this year and has been playing for Tasman. The Herald named him as a contender for the No 6 jersey, which has been a problem position for the All Blacks.

He's needed. Eight players are unavailable through injury:

• Ardie Savea (shoulder)
• Luke Jacobson (elbow)
• Caleb Clarke (shoulder)
• Ruben Love (ankle)
• Patrick Tuipulotu (calf)
• Anton Lienert-Brown (knee)
• Billy Proctor (shoulder)
• Ollie Norris (knee)

Jacobson and Clarke are out for the rest of the season. The other six miss the Bledisloe.

Love's ankle ligament injury opens up fly-half. He had started there for most of the year. Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo'unga, Damian McKenzie and Josh Jacomb now compete for the No 10 jersey, though rugby.com.au said McKenzie may be preferred at fullback. Jacomb is the only uncapped player in the squad. His only games on the Greatest Rivalry tour were two matches against South Africa's United Rugby Championship clubs.

For a side coming off a series loss, the squad hasn't changed much. Rennie and fellow selectors Sir Graham Henry and Neil Barnes kept 31 players from the original 44-man Greatest Rivalry squad. Mo'unga, who joined in South Africa as an injury replacement, is also in.

"Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour was great for us," Rennie said, according to Planet Rugby. "We've learnt a lot about our game and about ourselves."

Rennie used to coach the Wallabies. His old side comes into the series after beating South Africa last weekend.

"The Bledisloe Cup means a huge amount to this team. We've held it since 2003 and we don't take that for granted," Rennie said, as quoted by rugby.com.au. "After eight games on the road, we're excited to start this series in front of our home crowd at Eden Park."

The squad gets together in Auckland on Sunday. New Zealand have won 53 Tests in a row at Eden Park, a run that goes back to 1994. Australia haven't beaten them there since 1986.