All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen has made an unexpected selection decision by naming both Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga in his starting XV to face Canada at the Rugby World Cup in Japan on Wednesday.
Many had expected Hansen to rest one of his only two natural fly-halves against minnows Canada, or even to name Barrett’s younger brother Jordie at 10 but he has decided to stick with the star duo.
They are two of only four players to have retained their places in the first-team line-up, with the others in the pack in the form of captain Kieran Read and Scott Barrett.
With that in mind it is an entirely new front-row to the one that defeated the Springboks 23-13 last weekend meaning it is Atu Moli, Liam Coltman and Angus Ta’avao in the front-three, with Patrick Tuipulotu and Scott Barrett behind them in the second-row.
Shannon Frizzell is at blindside-flanker, with Matt Todd on the openside with Read completing the pack from No 8.
The experienced TJ Perenara comes in to replace Aaron Smith at scrum-half as he links-up with Mo’unga in the half-backs, with a strong centre partnership outside them in the form of Sonny Bill Williams and Jack Goodhue.
Rieko Ioane gets a chance to impress on the left-wing after falling down the pecking order in recent times, with Jordie Barrett on the right-wing and brother Beauden at full-back.
There is a serious amount of experience for Hansen to call upon from the bench with the likes of Codie Taylor, Sam Whitelock, Ardie Savea and Ben Smith to being on if needed.
Speaking ahead of the game Hansen admitted that with two games in four days his team’s aim is to win and continue building momentum as they look toward the quarter-finals.
“Our aim is to win the next two pool matches against Canada and Namibia, as well as continuing to grow our game and manage the workload across the group. With two games four days apart, it’s obvious that we need to use our whole squad. Whilst there’s a huge amount of energy and excitement amongst the whole team about what lies ahead, this week there has been a real focus on ourselves and our own standards,” he said.
New Zealand will be looking to take a step closer when they play the Canadians on Wednesday after an impressive win against rivals the Springboks in their opening pool match. A win here will put them on in a good position going into that Namibian game on Sunday while they will also be hoping not to pick up any injuries before that clash.
Check Out the Full 23-Man Squad Below.
1: Atu Moli (2)
2: Liam Coltman (6)
3: Angus Ta’avao (9)
4: Patrick Tuipulotu (26)
5: Scott Barrett (32)
6: Shannon Frizell (6)
7:Matt Todd (21)
8: Kieran Read – captain (123)
9: TJ Perenara (60)
10: Richie Mo’unga (13)
11: Rieko Ioane (26)
12: Sonny Bill Williams (54)
13: Jack Goodhue (9)
14: Jordie Barrett (12)
15: Beauden Barrett (79)
16: Codie Taylor (46)
17: Ofa Tuungafasi (31)
18: Nepo Laulala (21)
19: Samuel Whitelock (113)
20: Ardie Savea (40)
21: Brad Weber (2)
22: Ryan Crotty (46)
23: Ben Smith (81)
