‘He’s tough’: Why All Blacks coach Dave Rennie made shock decision to name Luke Jacobson at No 7
Friday, 3 July 2026
ANALYSIS: All Blacks coach Dave Rennie did more than make tongues flap when he put his trust in Luke Jacobson to start at opensider flanker against France on Saturday night.
Rennie almost made chimney pots rattle and letter boxes sway around New Zealand by giving the prized No 7 jersey to Jacobson instead of captain Ardie Savea.
Too dramatic? Maybe. Or maybe not.
If asked to swear with hands on hearts, how many rugby sleuths would have selected Jacobson to be on the side of the scrum ahead of Savea for the test against Les Bleus in the Nations Championship fixture in Christchurch?
Not many.
It's not as if Jacobson has never played at No 7, either. Having started at openside flanker for the Chiefs throughout Super Rugby Pacific, he has the credentials.
The reason many punters registered surprise - the untamed circus of social media is often a barometer for such things - was because Rennie had decided Savea, a man widely regarded as one of the best openside flankers in our solar system, had been asked to make way for Jacobson.
So Savea, the new All Blacks captain, will start at No 8 at One New Zealand Stadium.
Maybe that will change as the match progresses, with Wallace Sititi likely to be uncaged in the second half; if Sititi is inserted into the test at around the 50-minute mark, it could result in Jacobson being substituted so Savea can move to openside flanker and Sititi goes to No 8.
Last year, under former All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, Savea started at openside flanker in 10 of 12 tests.
The other two starts were at No 8; that was in the third test against the French in Hamilton, and the Rugby Championship opener against Argentina in Cordoba. Former Hurricanes team-mate Du'Plessis Kirifi was openside flanker.
While representing Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby Pacific earlier that season, Savea made magic happen; he seemed capable of anything as he performed like a man who was constructed out of steel and wire, and had the lung capacity of the great middle distance runner Peter Snell.
You name it, Savea did it.
His statistics with Moana Pasifika were eerily similar to the numbers he later registered with the All Blacks; he started 12 games for Moana Pasifika, with 10 at openside flanker and two at No 8.
Savea was like a man possessed when he played for the now-defunct club, and although his form was solid for the All Blacks, it wasn't outstanding. His best position was still considered to be openside flanker.
Rennie has made us think again. This is a big deal.
Although Rennie also made a decision to start Will Jordan on the right wing so Damian McKenzie can start at fullback, it was the unveiling of the back row combination of Peter Lakai, Jacobson and Savea that rocked many fans on their heels.
Asking Jordan to start on the wing, a position he is familiar with, potentially allows McKenzie to use his lethal counter attacking skills; both are capable under the high ball and if the All Blacks' bold mission to play a fast, attacking game under the roof of the new stadium gains traction, there's potential to create carnage.
An injury to lock Tupou Vaa'i - he is still concussed from playing for the Chiefs in the Super Rugby Pacific final against the Hurricanes - means Josh Lord and Sam Darry start in the second row, with Patrick Tuipulotu on the bench.
The decision to re-jig the loose forwards, however, is more radical.
Although Rennie said some players were nursing sore bodies and that was a factor in selections, tighthead prop Pasilio Tosi and Vaa'i were the only ones confirmed, he could have taken a more orthodox approach to the selection of his back row.
Lakai, it's worth nothing, has never started a test at blindside flanker.
One of tournament's best players when the Hurricanes won the Super Rugby Pacific title by laying waste to the Chiefs in Hamilton, he did his best work at No 8.
'It's just a number of the back for me,'' Rennie said in reference to the decision to start Jacobson at openside flanker.
'It sounds like some people got quite excited about the change but all of those guys [Savea, Jacobson and Lakai] have played a little bit of No 8.
'We like Luke. He's tough. He will have a real physical presence against the French and we think that's really important.''
Injuries prevented Jacobson, who has made 24 test appearances, from appearing for the All Blacks last year. He earned his most recent test cap as a substitute against Australia in Wellington in 2024.
'Both Pete and Ardie will give us a post-tackle presence,'' Rennie stated.
Previous coaches have stated the like Savea at No 8 because it provides a golden opportunity for him to launch from scrums, using his explosive power and acceleration to make defenders sweat and crunch over the gainline.
Rennie, who coached Savea at his Kobe Kobelco Steelers club in Japan, has spent the last three months plotting for this test.
When Rennie coached the Chiefs between 2012 and 2017, the team had a reputation for being aggressive, and gritty.
If the forwards could push the boundaries and get away with it, they were all for it; they steamed into rucks, appearing to relish the bone-on-bone contact as they bulldozed into opponents.
It was a template made for test rugby. Now, almost a decade after he last coached in New Zealand, Rennie wants the All Blacks to rip and tear against the French.
Jacobson, along with the other seven forwards, knows what's required. It's in their hands.
All Blacks: Damian McKenzie, Will Jordan, Quinn Tupaea, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke, Ruben Love, Cam Roigard, Ardie Savea (captain), Luke Jacobson, Peter Lakai, Sam Darry, Josh Lord, Fletcher Newell, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot: Reserves: Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia, Tyrel Lomax, Patrick Tuipulotu, Wallace Sititi, Cortez Ratima, Billy Proctor, Fehi Fineanganofo