All Blacks Fly Half Dilemma: Who does Dave Rennie back one year from Rugby World Cup?

In the most recent All Blacks outing at the Nations Championship, it was Ruben Love who started as fly-half for the team, but with a tour of South Africa on the horizon, and a Rugby World Cup just over a year away, who is likely to get the key spot?

Love made his senior international debut for the All Blacks in October 2024. He started on the bench but was called onto the pitch as a full back and ultimately scored two tries for his team. He made his international debut as a 10 in July 2026 in the Nations Championship, and he started as fly half in all three games of the tournament.

Head coach Rennie put his faith in Love ahead of experienced players such as McKenzie or Barrett. In fact, it was having experienced players to rely on which I believe gave Rennie the chance to let Love prove himself as a 10. Young players must also be given their opportunity to shine and it’s better to have experience behind them on the pitch to keep an eye on strategic decisions or plays. This allowed Love to flourish in the black jersey, just as he had done with the Hurricanes.

Love had a great tournament throughout the Nations Championship, and worked particularly well in partnership with McKenzie at fullback, as experience nurtured through the youth. It could be argued that if this worked well in the Nations Championship, why change it for the South Africa or tour heading into a World Cup? Their partnership was a combination of a young star who is excelling at his game, alongside an experienced and calm player who could step in when and if needed.

A significant factor to think about ahead of the World Cup is age. Of the four players being discussed here, Love will be the youngest contender for the position. By October 2027, he will be 26, in comparison to Barrett who will be 36, Mo’unga who will be 33 and finally McKenzie at 32.

If Love can continue proving himself to be the best person for the job, why would he worry about losing his place on the pitch? Rennie appears to be trying out different formations and giving players the opportunity to prove themselves. Love needs to continue excelling and growing as a player, if he does so, why should he lose the number 10 jersey for the World Cup?

McKenzie has not played as fly half for the All Blacks since July 2025 against France. He contributed to his team’s victory, but most recently he has been playing as a 15 for the All Blacks, despite starring at both axis for the Chiefs.

McKenzie is a versatile player who can step into the role of fly half when needed. He shifted positions to cover the number 10 role just this Summer against France, when Love received a yellow card. He also needed to shift his play against Italy when Love was sin-binned in the 70^th minute. This is a big responsibility, when Love was off the field, it meant that the most crucial position on the pitch was no longer covered and so McKenzie had to take on two massively important roles.

However, McKenzie is steadily proving better suited to the full-back position as he can have more time to make decisions and allow his young teammate to excel in the 10 jersey. Having McKenzie as a full-back allows for him to bring his experience into partnership with up-and-coming young players, as well as giving the team a safety net at the back of the pitch. Ultimately, it is unexpected to see McKenzie playing in the number 10 jersey at the World Cup. He should remain as a full back with the ability to take on the fly half role if needed.

With 144 international tests, Barrett is undeniably an important and experienced player for the All Blacks. There is still a lot of time to improve form ahead of the World Cup, but he has struggled in the Super Rugby Pacific this year with a lop-sided season with the Blues. He has suffered plenty of absences in the 2026 season due to planned rests and a quad injury to end the campaign.

Head coach Dave Rennie has made it known that a shift in the team, as well as Super Rugby form, has played a big factor in his squad selection. It could then have been expected that Barrett would struggle to be given such an important role on the pitch given his lack of playing time domestically. He did not play at all in the Nations Championship and instead watched on the sidelines as the partnership between Love and McKenzie blossomed.

Rennie has named Barrett to start as fly half for their tour opener in South Africa against the Stormers. Rennie appears to be testing his tactics and allowing players the chance to prove their worth ahead of next years world cup. It would be presumptive to say that Barrett’s chances of playing as fly half in the World Cup are over, but it will be interesting to see who is selected as number 10 in the test match series against South Africa.

Mo’unga was the first choice for the 10 jersey during the 2023 Rugby World Cup. However, he has recently been ineligible to play for New Zealand as he had been playing club rugby in Japan. New Zealand rugby enforces a rule that players must compete in domestic competitions to represent the team internationally. His last appearance as an All Black was during the 2023 World Cup Final against South Africa.

His time in Japan has come to a close following three seasons with Toshiba Brave Lupus, and Mo'unga has now returned to New Zealand and will be available for selection in the 2027 World Cup. However, he cannot be selected for the All Blacks until October 2026 and so will have under a year to show his impact and prove whether he deserves the fly half position.

Mo’unga will also not feature in the All Blacks tour of South Africa due to the squad being announced before the domestic season begins. This gives him limited chance to prove his worth compared to the likes of Love, McKenzie and Barrett, who have all been selected. He is in contention for the fly half position in next years World Cup, however from an All Blacks selection point, it’s difficult to consider whether he will overtake the preferred partnership of Love and McKenzie. This can only be answered once he’s back playing with the team.