The All Blacks have responded to last week’s 38-30 defeat to Argentina at Sky Stadium by making major changes to their squad for the rematch at Eden Park.
Four changes in the starting XV see Tamaiti Williams start in the front row with Ethan de Groot (neck) out injured, Rieko Ioane returns at centre and a new wing combination sees Caleb Clarke and Will Jordan move into the starting roles.
Former captain Sam Cane is in line to make his return to test rugby from the bench, with Anton Lienert-Brown and Mark Tele’a both moving back to the reserves after starting last weekend.
“We’ve reflected deeply on our performance and our preparation individually and collectively is something we have all owned,” All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said.
“Our intent and focus has shifted solely to Eden Park.”
Newstalk ZB Sport Reporter Nathan Limm told Francesca Rudkin he’s excited to see how Sam Cane goes, since he’ll be going straight from club rugby into a test match, having missed Super Rugby due to being in Japan, and then being off with a back injury.
He said that Cane’s got more than enough experience to pull it off, but it’ll be interesting to see his impact when he does come onto the field.
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