"Are you serious?" - One selection leaves All Blacks fans surprised ahead of Wales

New Zealand head into the weekend level with South Africa at the top of the southern hemisphere standings, with both sides boasting four wins from four.

It makes this round particularly important for the All Blacks, especially with the Springboks facing a tougher challenge against France.

Despite their impressive performance at Murrayfield, Rennie has opted to rotate his squad ahead of the trip to Cardiff.

One of the biggest talking points from the selection is the decision to leave scrum-half Kyle Preston out of the starting XV.

Preston has enjoyed an impressive rise in recent months, having played a prominent role during New Zealand's Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series against South Africa.

With Cam Roigard rested ahead of next week's clash with England, Cortez Ratima has been handed the starting number nine jersey.

However, the decision has left plenty of supporters questioning why Preston has not been given the opportunity instead.

One fan highlighted an area where Ratima needs to improve, writing: "Ratima need to be quicker behind the scrums."

Another was particularly unimpressed with the decision, commenting: "Ratima over Preston? Are you serious ? 🚶🫠."

A third questioned both Preston's omission from the starting line-up and his position on the bench. Despite the six-two split, he has been named at number 22 rather than the traditional scrum-half replacement position of 21.

They wrote: "What exactly does Preston have to do to get a start????!!!!! Leicester at 21? Lol is it meant to be 22 and Preston 21 perhaps? Or they keen to throw him at half back too now 🤣🤣."

However, it was not all criticism of Rennie's selections.

Plenty of supporters were pleased to see Beauden Barrett named as captain for the first time, while winger Fehi Fineanganofo has also been rewarded with a starting spot following his record-breaking Super Rugby campaign.