Rugby-Tuipulotu to captain All Blacks in tour opener against Stormers


FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Autumn Internationals - Ireland v New Zealand - Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland - November 8, 2024 New Zealand's Patrick Tuipulotu in action REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo

CAPE TOWN, Aug 5 (Reuters) - ⁠Patrick Tuipulotu will captain New Zealand in the opening ⁠match of their South African tour when they take ‌on the Stormers at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday.

• Coach Dave Rennie on Wednesday named some experienced players in the side, including Beauden Barrett ​at flyhalf and Rieko Ioane on the ⁠wing.

• Barrett did not play ⁠the three Nations Championship tests in New Zealand last month ⁠while ‌blindside flanker Simon Parker and reserve halfback Kyle Preston also missed the wins over France, Italy, and Ireland.

• ⁠Regular captain Ardie Savea is still on holiday ​ahead of his ‌belated arrival for the eight-match tour, while acting tour ⁠skipper Codie Taylor ​is nursing a sore calf, which means Tuipulotu captains the side for a second time.

• There are 13 changes to the team ⁠that started against Ireland in the Nations ​Championship in Auckland last month.

• Only Josh Moorby, who has switched from the left wing to fullback, and Tuipulotu remain from the ⁠40-21 win over the Irish.

• Tighthead prop Siale Lauaki and fullback Josh Jacomb are set to make their All Blacks debuts off the bench.

Team: 15-Josh Moorby, 14-Leroy Carter, 13-Billy Proctor, 12-Anton ​Lienert-Brown, 11-Rieko Ioane, 10-Beauden Barrett, 9-Cortez Ratima, ⁠8-Wallace Sititi, 7-Peter Lakai, 6-Simon Parker, 5-Patrick Tuipulotu (captain), 4-Fabian Holland, 3-Pasilio ​Tosi, 2-Samisoni Taukei'aho, 1-George Bower

Replacements:16-Asafo Aumua, ‌17-Ollie Norris, 18-Siale Lauaki, 19-Sam Darry, ​20-Ethan Blackadder, 21-Kyle Preston, 22-Josh Jacomb, 23-Caleb Clarke.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Christian Radnedge)

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