All Blacks vs Italy 2025: Rennie Makes Five Changes

Dave Rennie has made five changes to his All Blacks starting XV for Saturday's Nations Championship clash with Italy in Wellington, a reshuffle significant enough in scale to demand attention from anyone tracking the global championship standings.

Five changes across a starting lineup is not rotation for the sake of it. Rennie is clearly managing something — be it workload, injury concerns, or a calculated look at his depth ahead of what promises to be a demanding Nations Championship run. The All Blacks boss has form for backing his squad beyond the obvious first choices, and this selection doubles down on that philosophy in Wellington.

Italy arrive as a more dangerous proposition than their underdog tag suggests. The Squadra Azzurra have improved measurably under their current coaching setup, and they will not travel to New Zealand simply to make up the numbers. For Rennie's side, still navigating pointed scrutiny over recent performance dips, a slip here would damage their title credentials badly.

Wellington's home conditions give New Zealand the familiar advantage — crowd, surface, pressure — but five fresh faces in the starting lineup shifts the equation. Whether Rennie's faith in his depth chart proves a masterstroke or hands Italy an opening they will ruthlessly exploit is the central question heading into the weekend.

What the Nations Championship does not allow is careless dropping of points, regardless of the opponent. Rennie understands that. The reshuffled XV will know it too. Italy, for their part, will see the changes as an invitation rather than an insult — proof they have forced the All Blacks into strategic thinking rather than a business-as-usual selection.

Saturday's result will either vindicate Rennie's squad management or deepen the questions surrounding his tenure. Italy, meanwhile, face the kind of stage that defines programmes on the rise.