Eight debutants - including four in the starting XV - have been named for the Māori All Blacks to face Moana Pasifika in Hamilton on Saturday.
Southland lock Manaaki Selby-Rickit will start in the second row, while Quinn Tupaea (Waikato) and Billy Proctor (Wellington) will form a rookie midfield, with Bay of Plenty fullback Kaleb Trask at the back.
Hooker Kurt Eklund, prop Tamaiti Williams, loose forward Ethan Roots and back Rameka Poihipi will come off the bench.
Starting hooker Ash Dixon will lead the side, but can call on the experience of former All Blacks No.8 Liam Messam in what could be one of his final appearances before retirement.
North Harbour halfback Bryn Hall and Bay of Plenty Otere Black will form the inside back combination.
"It's a really proud opportunity for those young men and their whānau and iwi hapū to represent the Māori All Blacks," says coach Clayton McMillan. "It represents a bit of a changing of the guard.
"We've had some real stalwarts that have moved overseas or are unavailable for this particular campaign, and that opens up the door for some of those young guys to come in and show what they've got, and experience what it's like to be in our environment."
Prop Josh Hohneck returns to the line-up for the first time since 2015, logging 100 games for Gloucester in the meantime.
"We felt the likes of Liam and Josh - guys that have been in the jersey historically, gone away and plied their trade overseas - have come back and added real value to their Mitre 10 Cup teams," says McMillan.
"It's a no-brainer for us. They are still good enough, but the peripheral stuff they bring - the mana and the knowledge and their ability to set really high standards for young to follow - has been instrumental in pulling these guys together."
Māori All Blacks: 1-Josh Hohneck, 2-Ash Dixon, 3-Marcel Renata, 4-Isaia Walker-Leawere, 5-Manaaki Selby-Rickit, 6-Whetukamokamo Douglas, 7-Billy Harmon, 8-Liam Messam, 9-Bryn Hall, 10-Otere Black, 11-Sean Wainui, 12-Quinn Tupaea, 13-Billy Proctor, 14-Shaun Stevenson, 15-Kaleb Trask
Reserves: 16-Kurt Eklund, 17-Pouri Rakete-Stones, 18-Tamaiti Williams, 19-Ethan Roots, 20-Mitchell Karpik, 21-Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22-Rameka Poihipi, 23-Jonah Lowe
Join us at 7pm Saturday for live updates of the Māori All Blacks v Moana Pasifika match
