Rieko Ioane will not play at FNB Stadium on Saturday, and Dave Rennie has said why.
Not injury. Not form. The All Blacks head coach put Ioane next to Anton Lienert-Brown and marked him down on defence and work ethic, out loud, at a team announcement. Then he called him a freak. The whole sentence is below, and you can decide which half the selectors believed.
If you would have had Ioane on the bench ahead of Lienert-Brown, say so in the comments before you read the rest.
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie left Rieko Ioane out of the 23 for the third Test against the Springboks at FNB Stadium on 5 September 2026, saying the 91-Test back “probably doesn’t have the same level of work ethic” as Anton Lienert-Brown.
The question was one sentence. The answer named two players.
The team had been read out in Johannesburg on Thursday. Three forwards changed, no backs. A reporter asked how close Ioane had come to forcing his way in.
“He’s definitely part of the conversations, as are a couple other guys,” Rennie said. Then he explained what Anton Lienert-Brown gives him. “A guy with a massive engine. He does a lot of stuff that people don’t see in regard to the quality of a tackle and defensive game and clean out.”
Then the line.
“Rieko gives you X factor. Doesn’t defend as well as Anton and probably doesn’t have the same level of work ethic, but an absolute freak when he’s got ball in hand.”
He finished with “I see the attraction, and it was definitely part of the conversation.” Coaches say “part of the conversation” every week. They do not usually say “work ethic” about a 91-cap All Black with a microphone in front of them.
Read also: The man who sat on the bench for 80 minutes in Cape Town and kept his place anyway
What the 22 jersey actually does against South Africa
Lienert-Brown has 92 Tests. He was 22 at Ellis Park and 22 in Cape Town, and both nights the job was the same: cover 12 and 13, tackle, clean, do not be noticed.
Anyone who has come off a bench at 60 minutes against a side that kicks knows the first touch is never a carry. It is a chase, then a tackle on a man who has been running at you for an hour, then a clean-out at the ruck you just made. That is the shift Rennie was describing, and it is the one Ioane has never been picked for.
Rennie said the backline stays together because “when we’re accurate and get that right, we’re finding a lot of space”. Lienert-Brown is the man he trusts to keep it accurate at 65 minutes.
Rieko Ioane’s tour, and why the freak was tempting
Rieko Ioane has not played a Test since November 2025. He went to Leinster on a short-term deal, came back, and was left out of the Nations Championship squad. He made the 44-man touring party and played his way into the argument: left wing against the Stormers, outside centre in the 50-19 win over the Bulls in Pretoria, then two tries at 13 against the Lions at Ellis Park.
Justin Marshall said before the first Test that Ioane had come back “rejuvenated” and predicted he would make the 23. He did not, for Ellis Park or for Cape Town. Now he has missed a third, and this time the coach has said the quiet part.
“Rieko gives you X factor. Doesn’t defend as well as Anton and probably doesn’t have the same level of work ethic, but an absolute freak when he’s got ball in hand.”
Dave Rennie, Johannesburg, 3 September 2026
The word Rennie chose, and the one he did not
Read the quote again. Rennie did not say Ioane is unfit, off the pace or not ready. He said the other man works harder off the ball, and he put “probably” in front of it, which is a coach leaving himself a door.
The word he did choose was “freak”. Thirty-nine Test tries in 91 Tests says the same thing. New Zealand scored five tries at Ellis Park and four in Cape Town. If Soweto opens up the same way, a freak on the bench at 60 minutes is exactly what finishes it.
Rennie also said the selectors “contemplated” backline changes before settling on continuity. So the door is open. Saturday’s result decides how wide.
The counter-case: was this the game to leave him out?
South Africa go to FNB Stadium with Cheslin Kolbe at full-back and a kicking game built to keep the ball in the air. Rennie said himself on Thursday that the Springboks “are going to put a lot more up”. A bench centre in that match is chasing kicks and making tackles for 20 minutes, which is Lienert-Brown’s job description.
The case for Ioane is Baltimore. A neutral crowd, a decider, and a game-breaker at 60 minutes who changes the ending. If Saturday goes New Zealand’s way, the 23 for 12 September is the one to watch.
What happens next
The third Test kicks off at 17:10 SAST on Saturday 5 September at FNB Stadium, with the series 1-1. Both squads fly to Baltimore on Sunday for the fourth Test on 12 September, and the All Blacks have named their team on a Thursday every week of this tour.
Ioane has trained with the squad all tour. The question is whether the coach who said “work ethic” in Johannesburg picks the freak in Baltimore.
Would you have Ioane or Lienert-Brown at 22 for a decider at 60 minutes with the scores level?
Questions readers are asking
Why is Rieko Ioane not playing for the All Blacks against the Springboks?
Ioane was left out of the 23 for all three Tests in South Africa. Before the third Test, Dave Rennie said Anton Lienert-Brown defends better and has a stronger work ethic, while Ioane offers X factor with ball in hand. The backline was kept unchanged for continuity.
How many Test caps does Rieko Ioane have?
Ioane has played 91 Tests for the All Blacks and scored 39 Test tries since his debut in 2016. His last Test was in November 2025. He played the tour matches against the Stormers, Bulls and Lions in August 2026.
Who is on the All Blacks bench for the third Test at FNB Stadium?
Samisoni Taukei’aho, Xavier Numia, Fletcher Newell, Fabian Holland, Wallace Sititi, Kyle Preston, Anton Lienert-Brown and Josh Moorby. The starting backline is unchanged from the 33-26 defeat in Cape Town.
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