All Blacks stick with losing team

Anton Oliver led the All Blacks to victory in Cape Town

New Zealand have named an unchanged squad for their Tri-Nations series match against South Africa in Auckland on 25 August.

The 23-man squad is the same that was used for last weekend's defeat against Australia.

The Wallabies' 23-15 victory was the first time they had beaten New Zealand in Dunedin.

In sticking with the same players, the selectors have resisted calls of change from former All Blacks and the New Zealand public and media.

The performance against Australia was much slated with captain Anton Oliver bearing the brunt of the criticism.

All Black coach Wayne Smith said he was happy to stick with the players who have beaten Samoa, Argentina, France and South Africa so far this season.

The All Blacks beat South Africa in Cape Town in the first match of the Tri-Nations series last month.

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Full squad:

Backs: Leon MacDonald, Jonah Lomu, Jeff Wilson, Doug Howlett, Tana Umaga, Pita Alatini, Andrew Mehrtens, Tony Brown, Justin Marshall, Byron Kelleher.
Forwards: Ron Cribb, Taine Randell, Marty Holah, Reuben Thorne, Troy Flavell, Chris Jack, Norm Maxwell, Mark Cooksley, Carl Hayman, Carl Hoeft, Greg Somerville, Anton Oliver (captain), Mark Hammett.