Richie Mo’unga will start at fly-half for the All Blacks against the Lions at Ellis Park on Tuesday, his first appearance in the jersey since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final. Head coach Dave Rennie has changed his entire starting XV from the side that beat South Africa 33-16 in Saturday’s first Test, with lock Patrick Tuipulotu captaining the side in the fourth and final franchise fixture of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour.
Mo’unga, 32, won the last of his 56 caps in the 12-11 defeat to the Springboks in Paris, after which he joined Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo and fell outside New Zealand Rugby’s home-based selection rule. NZR later confirmed an 18-month deal returning him to Canterbury for the 2026 NPC and the Crusaders for the 2027 Super Rugby season, with Test eligibility from October 2026. Tuesday’s match is a tour game against a URC franchise rather than a Test.
Rennie changes all 15 for Ellis Park
Beauden Barrett starts at full-back, with Fehi Fineanganofo and Emoni Narawa on the wings and Rieko Ioane partnering Timoci Tavatavanawai in midfield. Noah Hotham is at scrum-half alongside Mo’unga.
Semisi Ta’eiloa packs down at No 8 behind a back row completed by Ethan Blackadder and Wallace Sititi. Tuipulotu partners Sam Darry in the second row, and the front row is Siale Lauaki, Samisoni Taukei’aho and Pasilio Tosi.
Rennie has gone with a 5:3 bench. Prop Saula Ma’u is in line to debut, while recent tour call-ups Ofa Tu’ungafasi and Jamie Hannah are joined by Bradley Slater, Peter Lakai, Kyle Preston, Josh Jacomb and Anton Lienert-Brown.
The selection means the coach has now used his whole touring party. Naming the 23, Rennie said everyone in the squad “will have played on tour, which is great for creating depth and competition for places in the Test team”, and warned of “another physical match against a Lions side that has been lying in wait”, speaking in the All Blacks’ team announcement.
Tuipulotu also led the side in the tour opener against the Stormers three weeks ago.
Four from four, and a clean sweep on offer
New Zealand arrive unbeaten from four starts, having beaten the Stormers 38-21 in Cape Town, the Sharks 54-0 in Durban and the Bulls 50-19 in Pretoria before Saturday’s win over the Springboks — 175 points scored and 56 conceded across the tour so far. A fifth win would complete a clean sweep of South Africa’s four URC franchises.
The Lions are the only one of those franchises yet to face the tourists, and they do so at their own ground three days after it hosted the first Test.
Kick-off is 7.10pm local (6.10pm BST). New Zealand then return to Test rugby against the Springboks at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday 29 August, with the third Test at FNB Stadium on 5 September and a fourth at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on 12 September.
All Blacks team v Lions
All Blacks: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Fehi Fineanganofo, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Timoci Tavatavanawai, 11 Emoni Narawa, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Noah Hotham, 8 Semisi Ta’eiloa, 7 Ethan Blackadder, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 4 Sam Darry, 3 Pasilio Tosi, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 1 Siale Lauaki
Replacements: 16 Bradley Slater, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Saula Ma’u, 19 Jamie Hannah, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Josh Jacomb, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown
