All Blacks coach Dave Rennie to be bold by picking Southland No 8 Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa for South Africa tour
Friday, 24 July 2026
Bruising 113kg forward has signed a contract with NZ Rugby until 2028
All Blacks will name their 44-man squad on Monday
Tupou Ta'eiloa hails from south Auckland but was schooled at Otago Boys’ High School
All Blacks coach Dave Rennie will signal his intention to take the fight to South Africa’s hard men by picking Southland wrecking ball Semisi Tupou Ta'eiloa for the ‘Greatest Rivalry’ tour.
The All Blacks will unveil their 44-man squad at noon on Monday and The Post understands that Tupou Ta'eiloa, 23, is poised for a seat on the plane to South Africa.
The Post can also reveal two new details that shows the All Blacks’ interest in Tupou Ta'eiloa, who played alongside All Blacks captain Ardie Savea at Moana Pasifika and under All Blacks defence coach Tana Umaga.
First, Tupou Ta'eiloa has been contracted by New Zealand Rugby until 2028, despite not yet signing for a Super Rugby club.
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Second, Tupou Ta'eiloa was one of the non-Super Rugby finalists who attended an All Blacks camp prior to the start of the test season.
Tupou Ta'eiloa’s contractual situation is not unprecedented - Savea is in a similar situation - but it is unusual, indicating that NZ Rugby has been prepared to be creative to retain his services after the collapse of Moana Pasifika.
Tupou Ta'eiloa was born and raised in south Auckland but went to Otago Boys’ High School, where he established himself as a First XV star with a penchant for scoring spectacular tries.
Tupou Ta'eiloa played in the same Otago Boys’ side as Highlanders Finn Hurley and Jake Te Hiwi and new Blues signing Cameron Millar.
Southland recognised his potential and signed him to a multi-year deal and Tupou Ta'eiloa enjoyed a breakout NPC season in 2024.
However, the Highlanders couldn’t find room for him in their Super Rugby squad for 2025 and he was snapped up as a replacement player by Moana Pasifika.
He quickly established himself as a starter for Moana Pasifika, terrorising defences in the No 8 jersey alongside Savea.
Tupou Ta'eiloa continued that strong form into 2026 and showed that he was again capable of producing double-digit statistics on each side of the ball.
In Moana Pasifika’s round four loss to the Chiefs, Tupou Ta'eiloa carried 15 times for 70 metres and scored two tries, as well as producing 16 tackles.
Yet, the All Blacks will likely feel that he has only scratched at the surface of his potential and that further conditioning improvements will take him to a higher level.
His likely selection shows that All Blacks selectors have regained their appetite for bolder picks after years of relatively predictable squads.
With some early runs on the board after three test wins against France, Italy and Ireland, Rennie is now in a better position to use all 44 of his players in South Africa.
Rennie has already said that he has picked his matchday squads for the All Blacks’ first three tour games against the Stormers (August 8), Sharks (August 12) and Bulls (August 16) as well as the first test against the Springboks on August 23 (3am NZT).
Tupou Ta'eiloa will therefore get the chance to make his mark in South Africa, a country he has already toured with the New Zealand under-19s in 2022.
The competition for Tupou Ta'eiloa’s signature among Super Rugby clubs is likely to be intense.
The Highlanders are the obvious suitors but the Crusaders, Hurricanes, Chiefs and Blues have all lost loose forwards to overseas contracts.