Bledisloe Cup: All Blacks without Savea and Love

After three straight defeats to the Springboks, New Zealand go into the Bledisloe Cup without two key players, against an Australia side fresh from beating the world champions.

The two sides arrive in contrasting form. The All Blacks won the first Test of their series in South Africa (16-33 in Johannesburg), then lost the next three, in Cape Town, Soweto and Baltimore. Australia have not lost since 11 July: four wins, a draw in Argentina (28-28) and a 42-38 win over South Africa in Perth on 27 September.

Savea and Love under the knife

Ardie Savea dislocated his shoulder in Soweto on 5 September, around twenty minutes after scoring two tries. The captain has had an operation and “won’t return until next year in Super Rugby”, head coach Dave Rennie told New Zealand radio station Newstalk ZB, adding that he was not sure he would be ready for the start of the season with the Blues, his new club.

Ruben Love will also miss the rest of the year. According to an All Blacks statement, the Hurricanes fly-half, who started six Tests in 2026, needs surgery on an ankle ligament injury. Rennie has picked Richie Mo’unga and Josh Jacomb at fly-half, with Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett also able to cover the position.

Australia without their overseas players

The Bledisloe Cup falls outside the international window under World Rugby’s Regulation 9, which requires clubs to release their internationals. Prop Taniela Tupou, back at Racing 92, and back-rower Tom Hooper, back at Exeter, will therefore miss both Tests. Centre Hunter Paisami is suspended for a high tackle on Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu against the Springboks, and back-rower Charlie Cale is injured until the end of the year.

Head coach Les Kiss has called up two uncapped players, Brumbies lock or flanker Toby Macpherson, who replaces Hooper, and Harry McLaughlin-Phillips. Harry Wilson remains captain.

Eden Park, a fortress since 1994

The All Blacks’ last defeat at Eden Park came on 3 July 1994, against France. New Zealand have not lost there since, a run that makes the game “a formidable challenge”, Les Kiss told reporters in Sydney. Defeat on Saturday would also be a fourth in a row for the All Blacks, something that has not happened to them since the late 1990s. The second Test is scheduled for Saturday 17 October.