WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Damian McKenzie will start at flyhalf with veteran Beauden Barrett at fullback as a spate of injuries has shaped the New Zealand All Blacks lineup to face Australia on Saturday in the first rugby test of Bledisloe Cup series.
Ruben Love already had been ruled out for the season with an ankle injury when Richie Mo'unga injured a calf muscle at training on Tuesday, leaving McKenzie and Barrett — both preferred as fullbacks — to share the playmaker roles in the wake of New Zealand's 3-1 series loss to World Cup champion South Africa.
“Damian’s trained a lot (at flyhalf) for us. Beauden’s predominantly trained at 15 when we’re in Africa,“ head coach Dave Rennie said. “I think both those players are interchangeable. They both spend a lot of time in the backfield. The way we play, having a 15 who is a real playmaker suits.
“We could have played them the other way around but they’ll both end up in playmaker roles and they’ll both end up in the backfield.”
With Caleb Clarke unavailable with a shoulder injury and Fehi Fineaganofo sidelined with concussion, Will Jordan and Leroy Carter will start on the wings. Jordie Barrett and Quinn Tupaea will combine in midfield in the absence of Billy Proctor and Anton Lienert-Brown, who also have injuries.
The backrow is unchanged by injuries to captain Ardie Savea, who is out of action for several months after shoulder surgery, and Luke Jacobson, who has an elbow injury. Tupou Vaa'i returns from lock to the blindside flank, while Peter Lakai moves to the openside and Wallace Sititi to No. 8.
The All Blacks have been disadvantaged all season by the lack of a specialist No. 7.
Former captain Scott Barrett will make his first test appearance of the season, returning at lock, as the three Barrett brothers start together for the first time this year. Hooker Codie Taylor retains the captaincy.
The All Blacks already appeared hard-pressed to defend their 40-year unbeaten record against Australia at Eden Park before injuries to Mo’unga, Fineanganofo, Love, Patrick Tuipulotu, Savea, Jacobson, Lienert-Brown, Proctor, Clarke and prop Ollie Norris made their task much harder.
In three consecutive losses to South Africa in the Greatest Rivalry series, the All Blacks have struggled to perform skills under high pressure as they try to establish a high-tempo style. Their inability to compete in the air is an area likely to be targeted by the Wallabies, who excelled in that area in a recent win over the Springboks.
For Australia, Isaac Henry will start at center in place of Hunter Paisami who is suspended in the only change to the Wallabies starting lineup for the match. Paisami will combine in midfield with Len Ikitau.
Among a number of changes on a 5-3 bench, prop Massimo De Lutiis replaces Taniela Tupou who has rejoined his French club. Lachlan Shaw will make his first Bledisloe Cup appearance as a replacement alongside Nick Champion de Crespigny who is named on the bench for only his second match of the year.
Declan Meredith will cover flyhalf and fullback.
“Keeping consistency in the starting side gives us a solid foundation, while adding some freshness on the bench will provide energy late in the game,” head coach Les Kiss said.
“There aren’t many tougher challenges than playing New Zealand at Eden Park, but it’s one we’re excited by and know that we will need to be at our best in all aspects of our game.”
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Australia's head coach Les Kiss watched his team warm up before their rugby union test match against South Africa in Perth, Australia, on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gary Day)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he wants to develop one of his Florida golf courses into a presidential retreat where his successors can spend quiet weekends on the greens, describing it as “sort of a Camp David ” that he says would already have many of the security features needed to host presidents and world leaders.
The proposal for the retreat on Trump’s private golf course in West Palm Beach would comingle the presidency with Trump's business ventures beyond his time in office, and is the the latest example of Trump seeking ways to leave his imprint on the presidency.
“It’s a great idea, and it’ll be used a lot,” Trump said, claiming it was suggested by the United States Secret Service. “It seems that all presidents play golf.”
The plan has already been submitted to local officials. Trump, an avid golfer, rattled off the benefits of the property a short drive from his Mar-a-Lago home during an unrelated event in the Oval Office, noting that it’s close to an airport and has some distance from residential homes and tall buildings, which pose security risks.
He did not mention that the golf course was the site of an unsuccessful attempt on his life in 2024. Trump was playing at the Trump International Golf Club during a break from the campaign trail when a Secret Service agent spotted an armed man in the trees lining the club’s perimeter fence. The man was arrested after a chase and later convicted of trying to kill Trump, and was sentenced to life in prison.
Past presidents have used Camp David, a rustic compound in Maryland, as a weekend retreat and a place to host presidential meetings. Trump has spent less time there, often opting for his own properties, including golf clubs in Florida, New Jersey and Virginia.
Trump's proposal follows other projects by the lifelong real estate developer to build a White House ballroom, gild the Oval Office, erect a triumphal arch, renovate the Kennedy Center, refurbish the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and rebuild a golf course in East Potomac Park. He has also begun planning a future presidential library in a Miami skyscraper.
In a letter to Palm Beach County commissioners last month, first reported by the Palm Beach Post, an attorney who represents the golf course said Trump is offering to designate it as a “U.S. Presidential Golf Course.”
“Just as Camp David, Windsor Castle, or the Elysée Palace are known worldwide, so too will the Presidential Golf Course in Palm Beach County,” Harvey Oyer said in the letter.
Palm Beach County Administrator Joseph Abruzzo said in a statement that local officials are eager to explore what this “historic opportunity” could mean to the community. “This likely would further cement Palm Beach County’s place on the national and international stage for generations to come,” Abruzzo said.
Oyer's letter said the West Palm Beach golf course could be used by current and former presidents, along with visiting foreign heads of state. The Trump Organization owns the golf club but leases the land from the county, which would need to approve any changes.
Under the proposal, the club would pay to build a new presidential lodging and then work with the Secret Service and other agencies to provide free access to the federal government. The retreat would have a separate entrance from the private club, which earned Trump nearly $37 million during his first year back in office, according to his financial disclosure.
“This is a gift that the President would like to share with his successors, the people of America, and his fellow Palm Beach County residents," Oyer wrote. "It should be noted that President Trump will be out of office before this proposed project could be completed so this is a gift to his successors.”
Oyer highlighted past U.S. presidents who turned over land for public use. Dwight Eisenhower donated his Gettysburg Farm in Pennsylvania to the National Park Service, and Franklin D. Roosevelt donated part of his estate in Hyde Park, New York.
Years before it was bought by Trump, Mar-a-Lago itself was proposed as a “Winter White House.”
Businesswoman and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post left the home to the National Park Service when she died in 1973, but the agency returned the home to her estate in 1980 because of high maintenance costs. Trump bought the property in 1985, and it later became his primary residence.
Binkley reported from Washington.
FILE - The motorcade for President Donald Trump arrives at Trump International Golf Club, Jan. 2, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
