All Blacks coach Steve Hansen included all his big names for this weekend’s Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks when he named his team on Thursday.
Lock Sam Whitelock‚ flanks Liam Squire and Sam Cane‚ and centre Ryan Crotty‚ who sat out last week’s 36-10 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires‚ return to the starting lineup.
The starting side shows only one enforced change from the team that beat the Springboks 57-0 in Albany three weeks ago with lock Brodie Retallick missing the clash for personal reasons.
Flyhalf Lima Sopoaga‚ who was also rested for the Argentinean leg of the tournament‚ returns to the bench.
In other changes‚ Nehe Milner-Skudder is back on the right wing in place of Waisake Naholo‚ who didn’t make the trip to South Africa.
Flank Matt Todd provides looseforward cover on the bench while Tawera Kerr-Barlow is the preferred scrumhalf replacement for the match.
“We’ve settled in well in Cape Town this week.
"However‚ our preparation has been different because of the need to recover well from all the travel‚” Hansen said.
“This has meant that there’s been less time on the park and an even greater emphasis than normal on the mental side of our preparation.
"As always‚ getting real clarity of our roles and how we want to play has been key.
“We know we’ll be playing a proud Springbok side‚ which will be determined to rectify what happened in Albany.
"While it’s necessary for us to try and anticipate what they’re going to bring to the match‚ it’s more important for us to focus on what we’re going to bring to the encounter.
"Our skill execution‚ our physicality and our ability to play our ‘triple threat’ game will be critical.
“The team is really looking forward to playing at Newlands after a nine-year absence.
"We know we have a huge fan base here and the hospitality and reception we have received from the local folks has been fantastic.
"We look forward to their support‚ as well as the support of all our New Zealand and global fans‚ come Saturday.”
New Zealand:
15-Damian McKenzie; 14-Nehe Milner-Skudder‚ 13-Ryan Crotty‚ 12-Sonny Bill Williams‚ 11-Rieko Ioane; 10-Beauden Barrett‚ 9-Aaron Smith; 8-Kieran Read (capt)‚ 7-Sam Cane‚ 6-Liam Squire‚ 5-Scott Barrett‚ 4-Sam Whitelock; 3-Nepo Laulala‚ 2-Dane Coles‚ 1-Kane Hames. Reserves: 16-Codie Taylor‚ 17-Wyatt Crockett‚ 18-Ofa Tu’ungafasi‚ 19-Patrick Tuipulotu‚ 20-Matt Todd‚ 21-Tawera Kerr-Barlow‚ 22-Lima Sopoaga‚ 23-David Havili.
All Blacks go full strength for the Springboks
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen included all his big names for this weekend’s Rugby Championship clash against the Springboks when he named his team on Thursday.
Lock Sam Whitelock‚ flanks Liam Squire and Sam Cane‚ and centre Ryan Crotty‚ who sat out last week’s 36-10 win over Argentina in Buenos Aires‚ return to the starting lineup.
The starting side shows only one enforced change from the team that beat the Springboks 57-0 in Albany three weeks ago with lock Brodie Retallick missing the clash for personal reasons.
Flyhalf Lima Sopoaga‚ who was also rested for the Argentinean leg of the tournament‚ returns to the bench.
In other changes‚ Nehe Milner-Skudder is back on the right wing in place of Waisake Naholo‚ who didn’t make the trip to South Africa.
Flank Matt Todd provides looseforward cover on the bench while Tawera Kerr-Barlow is the preferred scrumhalf replacement for the match.
“We’ve settled in well in Cape Town this week.
"However‚ our preparation has been different because of the need to recover well from all the travel‚” Hansen said.
“This has meant that there’s been less time on the park and an even greater emphasis than normal on the mental side of our preparation.
"As always‚ getting real clarity of our roles and how we want to play has been key.
“We know we’ll be playing a proud Springbok side‚ which will be determined to rectify what happened in Albany.
"While it’s necessary for us to try and anticipate what they’re going to bring to the match‚ it’s more important for us to focus on what we’re going to bring to the encounter.
"Our skill execution‚ our physicality and our ability to play our ‘triple threat’ game will be critical.
“The team is really looking forward to playing at Newlands after a nine-year absence.
"We know we have a huge fan base here and the hospitality and reception we have received from the local folks has been fantastic.
"We look forward to their support‚ as well as the support of all our New Zealand and global fans‚ come Saturday.”
New Zealand:
15-Damian McKenzie; 14-Nehe Milner-Skudder‚ 13-Ryan Crotty‚ 12-Sonny Bill Williams‚ 11-Rieko Ioane; 10-Beauden Barrett‚ 9-Aaron Smith; 8-Kieran Read (capt)‚ 7-Sam Cane‚ 6-Liam Squire‚ 5-Scott Barrett‚ 4-Sam Whitelock; 3-Nepo Laulala‚ 2-Dane Coles‚ 1-Kane Hames. Reserves: 16-Codie Taylor‚ 17-Wyatt Crockett‚ 18-Ofa Tu’ungafasi‚ 19-Patrick Tuipulotu‚ 20-Matt Todd‚ 21-Tawera Kerr-Barlow‚ 22-Lima Sopoaga‚ 23-David Havili.
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