Following the announcement of the All Blacks team to take on Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, here are our winners and losers from Dave Rennie’s selections.

After notching an impressive 43-21 victory over Scotland in the opening Test of the Northern Hemisphere leg of their Nations Championship campaign last weekend, Rennie has opted to rest several of his first choice players.

The big news is the appointment of experienced utility back Beauden Barrett as New Zealand‘s skipper for this encounter and he takes over the captaincy from Codie Taylor who has dropped out of the matchday squad.

Without further ado, we unpack the All Blacks team for this eagerly anticipated clash, picking out our winners and losers.

Winners

Beauden Barrett

After seeing no action during the Southern Hemisphere leg of the Nations Championship in July and having very little game-time in the All Blacks’ Test series against the Springboks, Barrett’s fortunes have changed for the better over the past month.

He was promoted to the run-on side for their Bledisloe Cup encounters against the Wallabies and delivered superb performances in Auckland and Sydney. He continued with his excellent form in last weekend’s triumph over Scotland, where he crossed for a couple of five-pointers, and, in doing so, he became only the second player to score 50 Test tries – after Will Jordan – for New Zealand.

And with Taylor not included in the matchday squad and despite his younger brother, Scott, who was the All Blacks’ captain in 2024 and 2025, being in the run-on side, the 148-Test international will captain his country for the first time on Saturday.

It will be interesting to see how he handles the extra responsibility of leadership and whether it affects his game.

Richie Mo’unga and Cortez Ratima

With first-choice half-back duo Damian McKenzie and Cam Roigard being rested, all eyes will be on their replacements, Richie Mo’unga and Cortez Ratima, who will be calling the shots as New Zealand’s chief playmakers in this fixture.

The pair will have big boots to fill as McKenzie and Roigard have combined brilliantly in the All Blacks’ three previous Tests against Australia and Scotland.

Much is expected of Mo’unga, who made his return to the international arena in the last Test against the Springboks, when he replaced Ruben Love, but did not impress in that match before a calf injury kept him on the sidelines for the Bledisloe Cup Tests.

Ratima returned to action off the bench against Australia in Sydney – after missing the bulk of the South African tour due to a knee injury – and although he is very much behind Roigard in New Zealand’s scrum-half queue, he will be keen to impress in his first Test start of the year.

Anton Lienert-Brown

Another player back from injury and just like Mo’unga and Ratima, Lienert-Brown will be expected to hit the ground running against Wales as he takes over from Jordie Barrett as the men in black’s starting inside centre.

That is a tough act to follow as the youngest of the Barrett brothers has been amongst the All Blacks’ best players in 2026, but Lienert-Brown is one of the most experienced campaigners in New Zealand’s squad with 94 Test appearances to his name.

The 31-year-old is back in action after recovering from a knee injury sustained against South Africa and will be eager to make his presence felt on either side of the ball.

Fehi Fineanganofo

After finishing this year’s Super Rugby Pacific campaign as the joint-top try scorer – alongside fellow Hurricanes winger Josh Moorby – the 24-year-old made his Test bow for the All Blacks as a replacement during the latter stages of their Nations Championship win over France in July.

Fineanganofo was also included for Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour in South Africa but did not add to his Test cap tally as he only featured in matches against club sides.

Upon his return to New Zealand, he sustained a concussion and a hamstring strain while on duty for Bay of Plenty in a National Provincial Championship (NPC) match against North Harbour which meant he missed out on the All Blacks’ Tests against the Wallabies.

Brilliant with ball in hand, Fineanganofo should be a handful for Wales’ defenders and don’t be surprised if he crosses the whitewash.

Anton Segner

The Blues flanker was one of the All Blacks’ stars during the early stages of their South African tour but suffered a setback when he sustained an ankle injury that ruled him out of the opening Test against the Springboks in Johannesburg as well as the rest of the series.

After recovering from that setback, the German-born tearaway made his return for New Zealand via the bench in their triumph over the Wallabies at Eden Park – a role which he also reprised in the recent victory against Scotland.

Those efforts have now been rewarded with his inclusion in the run-on side against Wales and he will be eager to deliver a similar performance over a longer period on Saturday.

Leicester Fainga’anuku

The 27-year-old was in a rich vein of form for the Crusaders before sustaining a fibula fracture and a high ankle sprain during a Super Rugby Pacific semi-final clash against the Chiefs in June.

That setback kept him on the sidelines for about three months which meant he missed the All Blacks’ Nations Championship Tests in July as well as their trip to South Africa.

However, he made a successful return to action with Tasman in the NPC and there is plenty of excitement amongst All Blacks fans after he was named as a substitute for the clash against Wales as he is a genuine hybrid player who can play on the wing, at centre or on the flank.

Josh Lord

The 25-year-old was forced off with concussion in the opening Test against the Springboks and was on the sidelines for the bulk of that series before returning as a replacement for the final clash against the world champions in Baltimore.

Lord was back in the run-on side for the first Bledisloe Cup Test but an injury ruled him out of the return match in Sydney and he also missed out on selection against Scotland.

He will be hoping to make a big impact in the lineouts and on defence against Wales.

Losers

Josh Jacomb

The 25-year-old can consider himself very unlucky as Rennie’s decision to employ a 6/2 split on his replacements bench means he misses out on selection for this weekend’s clash as one of the backline reserves.

Jacomb is a classy playmaker who is primarily a fly-half but also capable of playing at full-back and impressed when he featured for the All Blacks in some midweek games against South Africa’s United Rugby Championship teams during the men in black’s tour to that country earlier this year.

However, his omission from the matchday squad to face Wales means he will not realise his dream of winning his first Test cap.

Timoci Tavatavanawai

The burly midfielder was in excellent form during the All Blacks’ midweek matches against South Africa’s United Rugby Championship clubs but could not get a look-in to the Test side during that tour.

There was a clamour for him to be promoted to the 23 for their clashes against Australia and after being overlooked for the first clash in Auckland, he was included in the starting line-up in Sydney after Jordie Barrett withdrew shortly before kick off.

Tavatavanawai put in a solid performance in that encounter before playing off the bench against Scotland but he is overlooked against Wales.

Christian Lio-Willie

After missing out on selection for New Zealand’s July Nations Championship Tests – against France, Italy and Ireland – the tour to South Africa and the Bledisloe Cup Tests, Lio-Willie was included in the squad for the tour of the United Kingdom following some fine displays for Otago in the NPC.

The hard running number eight was then named amongst the replacements for last weekend’s Test against Scotland at Murrayfield and despite seeing some action during the closing stages of that fixture, the 28-year-old drops out of the matchday squad.

With Segner elevated to the run-on side and Fainga’anuku set to make an impact as a hybrid player off the bench, it was either Lio-Willie or his Crusaders team-mate Ethan Blackadder who would get the nod as the back-up loose forward and after shining in the final Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the Springboks, it’s not surprising that the latter was named.

Rieko Ioane

After playing off the replacements bench in the All Blacks’ last four Tests against South Africa, Australia and Scotland, the experienced outside back must have fancied his chances of being included in the starting line-up against Wales, who are viewed as the weakest of the All Blacks’ opponents on their United Kingdom tour.

However, Ioane has not been promoted to the run-on side as he’s included on the bench for this fixture as well.

The former Leinster star is a brilliant finisher, who is equally adept on the wing or in midfield and will be hoping for plenty of minutes off the bench in a bid to impress Rennie ahead of the eagerly anticipated showdown against England at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on November 21.

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Saula Ma’u

Along with Jacomb, the Highlanders front-rower is the only member of the All Blacks squad who is yet to represent them at Test level and he will have to wait a little while longer to achieve that feat after being overlooked for the matchday squad for this weekend’s clash.

The 26-year-old Ma’u earned his maiden selection in an All Blacks squad when picked as an injury replacement for Ollie Norris during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour to South Africa and made his only appearance for his country off the bench against the Lions.

Since then, he has been on the fringes of the Test squad but with more experienced tighthead props like Fletcher Newell and Pasilio Tosi ahead of him in the pecking order, he misses out on the opportunity of making the step up to Test level.