All Blacks team to play Sharks in Durban

All Blacks Head Coach Dave Rennie has named his team to play the Sharks at Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium in Durban on Tuesday 11 August, in the second match of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry presented by Castle Double Malt.

Kick off 7.00PM local time (5.00AM Wednesday 12 August NZT), LIVE on Sky Sport. Highlights available on allblacks.com and the All Blacks and Black Ferns app.

All Blacks match-day 23 (Test caps and non-Test games in brackets. * indicates first All Blacks appearance):

1.   Ethan de Groot (43, 0)

2.  Asafo Aumua (22, 3)

3.   Fletcher Newell (37, 0)

4.   Josh Lord (15, 0)

5.  Sam Darry (10, 1)

6.   Tupou Vaa’i (47, 0)

7.   Wallace Sititi (21, 0)

8.   Luke Jacobson (27, 0) (Captain)

9.   Kyle Preston (1, 1)

10.  Ruben Love (8, 0)

11.  Caleb Clarke (36, 1)

12. Jordie Barrett (81, 0)

13.  Quinn Tupaea (26, 0)

14. Fehi Fineanganofo (1, 0)

15. Damian McKenzie (77, 0)
 

16.  Bradley Slater *

17.  Ollie Norris (3, 1) 

18. Pasilio Tosi (17, 1)

19.  Ethan Blackadder (14, 1)

20.  Semisi Ta'eiloa *

21.  Cam Roigard (20, 0)

22.  Timoci Tavatavanawai (2, 0)

23.  Emoni Narawa (4, 0)

Bradley Slater’s All Blacks career is off to a whirlwind start, with the hooker flying in to join the squad just five days ago as a replacement for the injured George Bell.  Slater is set to make his All Blacks debut from the bench alongside loose forward Semisi Ta'eiloa.

Meanwhile, seven players from the All Blacks team that beat the Stormers 38-21 on Friday have again been named in the 23 for this second match of the tour.

Hooker Asafo Aumua, lock Sam Darry, halfback Kyle Preston, and wing Caleb Clarke, who all came off the bench against the Stormers, will start against the Sharks. Prop Pasilio Tosi, who started in the Stormers game, will provide impact from the bench, alongside fellow prop Ollie Norris and loose forward Ethan Blackadder, who get their second bench start of the tour.

Luke Jacobson will captain the All Blacks for the first time.

“Luke is the obvious choice to captain the team against the Sharks. He is highly respected, has a great feel for the game and will lead through his actions,” Head Coach Dave Rennie said.

“Two more players will pull on the All Blacks jersey for the first time against the Sharks. On behalf of the whole squad, I want to congratulate Semisi and Bradley on achieving this very special milestone, and I know their family and friends will be incredibly proud.

“The opening match gave the players a real introduction to the way that South African teams play and the Sharks will be no different. With a short turnaround between games, today has been a big day of preparation. There is a lot of excitement in the group, with the majority of the squad about to play their first game of the tour.”
 

MATCH FACTS 

• The All Blacks have played six matches against the Sharks predecessor, Natal, winning five of the matches, with one drawn.  They recorded wins in 1928, 1949, 1970, 1976 and 1992, with the 6-6 draw in 1960. The first two games were played at Alexandra Park in the city of Pietermaritzburg (1928) and Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban (1949) with all other games played at King Park Stadium.
• All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke’s father, Eroni, played twice in Durban. He played at second five-eighth in the 1992 match against Natal and centre in the 1998 Test against the Springboks.