BALTIMORE, Sept 10 (Reuters) - 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 concussion and Fletcher Newell taking Tyrel Lomax’s place at tighthead. Asafo Aumua, who started at hooker last week, returns to the bench.
Experienced lock Patrick Tuipulotu comes into the second row with Sam Darry, allowing Vaa'i to move to blindside flanker.
Josh Lord will back up the locks from the bench with Fabian Holland ruled out by a stomach illness that ripped through the camp this week.
Anton Lienert-Brown starts in the centres with Jordie Barrett after Quinn Tupaea's tour was ended by a knee injury, while Josh Moorby was selected on the wing in place of Leroy Carter, who missed a key tackle in last Saturday's 29-24 loss to the Springboks.
Team: 15-Damian McKenzie, 14-Will Jordan, 13-Anton Lienert-Brown, 12-Jordie Barrett, 11-Josh Moorby, 10-Richie Mo’unga, 9-Cam Roigard, 8-Peter Lakai, 7-Ethan Blackadder, 6-Tupou Vaa'i, 5-Sam Darry, 4-Patrick Tuipulotu, 3-Fletcher Newell, 2-Codie Taylor (captain), 1-Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16-Asafo Aumua, 17-Xavier Numia, 18-Tyrel Lomax, 19-Josh Lord, 20-Wallace Sititi, 21-Kyle Preston, 22-Rieko Ioane, 23-Beauden Barrett.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Clare Fallon, Peter Rutherford)
