Mo'unga returns, Taylor named All Blacks captain for final South Africa test

BALTIMORE, Sept 10 : New Zealand coach Dave Rennie has recalled flyhalf Richie Mo'unga for his first test in three years, named Codie Taylor as captain, and made wholesale changes to his pack for the fourth and final test against South Africa in Baltimore on Saturday.

Mo'unga replaces Ruben Love in the playmaker role and is set to win his first cap since New Zealand lost to South Africa in the 2023 World Cup final, after which he moved to play in Japan.

Rennie said the 32-year-old would have played at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday regardless of the state of the series, which South Africa lead 2-1 after winning the third test last week.

"We're keen to give Richie a crack, and he's prepared really well this week," Rennie told reporters on Thursday.

"Ruben's gone really well ... when I spoke to him, I stressed the fact that our last week was probably the biggest test the All Blacks have played since the World Cup final, and we trusted him to run the ship ahead of three more experienced 10s.

"That highlights where we see him."

Taylor was dropped for last weekend's loss in Johannesburg but has been restored to the side as skipper after Ardie Savea returned home with a shoulder injury.

"He's the tour captain, so that made sense to us," Rennie added.

 "Obviously, we’ve lost a fair bit of experience with injury over the weekend, with Luke (Jacobson) and Ardie out. Codie (is) an excellent player and gives us a lot of leadership and experience."

Loose forward Jacobson was ruled out of the match by an elbow injury.

Peter Lakai moves to the back of the scrum to replace Savea at number eight and will link up with Ethan Blackadder and Tupou Vaa'i in the back row.

Taylor features in a new-look front row with Ethan de Groot back after