All Blacks forward pack reshuffled for Cape Town Test against Springboks

Dave Rennie will make at least two changes to his All Blacks starting XV for the second Test against the Springboks in Cape Town, with the team to be named on Thursday.

Both lock Josh Lord and loosehead prop Ethan de Groot are unavailable after clashing heads late in the first half of last weekend's 33-16 victory at Ellis Park, leaving Rennie to restructure his front five.

The pair must serve a mandatory 12-day stand-down under World Rugby's concussion protocols.

The Cape Town Test kicks off at 3am Sunday morning New Zealand time.

Front Row Reshuffle Around Bower and Numia

RNZ Sport reports that veteran loosehead George Bower, 34, is expected to slot into de Groot's starting position. Bower came on at halftime at Ellis Park and appeared to help stabilise what had been a shaky All Blacks scrum.

Two-cap Hurricanes prop Xavier Numia, 27, is set to move onto the bench in Bower's place.

Numia had come off at halftime against the Bulls in Pretoria due to a tight Achilles tendon, but he has since returned, playing 10 minutes off the bench in Wednesday's win over the Lions with a positive impact on the scrum.

Two Options to Cover Lord at Lock

Replacing Lord is less straightforward. RNZ Sport outlines two scenarios Rennie is weighing.

The first option is to move Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu into the starting second row alongside Fabian Holland. Tuipulotu came off early in the Lions midweek match and would be stepping straight back into Test rugby.

The second option keeps Tuipulotu on the bench and promotes flanker Simon Parker to start on the blindside. That shift would push Parker's Chiefs teammate Tupou Vaa'i from blindside flanker to lock, a position Vaa'i has occupied for the bulk of his 48 Tests.

Rennie is reluctant to make wholesale changes beyond those forced by the concussion stand-downs, with several squad members having played heavy minutes in the midweek fixture and unlikely to be fully fresh.

The Possible Team for Cape Town

RNZ Sport's projected starting XV has Damian McKenzie at fullback, with Will Jordan, Quinn Tupaea, Jordie Barrett and Josh Moorby across the back three and midfield.

Ruben Love and Cam Roigard form the halves combination, with captain Ardie Savea leading a loose trio alongside Luke Jacobson and Simon Parker.

The projected second row is Fabian Holland and Tupou Vaa'i, with Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor and George Bower forming the front row.

The projected reserves are Asafo Aumua, Xavier Numia, Fletcher Newell, Peter Lakai, Patrick Tuipulotu, Kyle Preston, Anton Lienert-Brown and Leroy Carter.

Planet Rugby reported that Rennie had spoken ahead of the first Test about Fabian Holland's inclusion, describing him as a player with a strong engine and the physical profile to affect Test matches after returning from a shoulder dislocation that cost him the entire Super Rugby Pacific season.

Rennie also noted ahead of Ellis Park that he expected to use more than 23 players across the tour given the intensity of Test rugby in South Africa.

A win in Cape Town would give the All Blacks an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

This report is based on a single source, rnz.co.nz, and has not been independently verified.