The All Blacks have rung the changes for their northern tour-opening test against Japan at Tokyo's National Stadium on Saturday.
Coach Ian Foster and his cohorts have made 12 changes to the starting side which last took the field at Eden Park on September 24, when they romped to a 40-14 win over the Wallabies, with several players unavailable due to injury and personal reasons.
The most notable among those are test starts for Blues duo Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Stephen Perofeta, who have been named at second-five and fullback respectively, after brief appearances off the bench earlier this season.
Brayden Ennor combines with Tuivasa-Sheck in the midfield, while Sevu Reece returns to the wing and halfback Finlay Christie earns his second test start.
"We see this as an opportunity for Roger and for Brayden," Foster said. "They have been training a lot together on the other side of the team, so they know each other through a lot of training hours together.
"Both have worked incredibly had without getting the reward of selection, so really keen for them to get on the park to show what they have learned.''
Richie Mo'unga will steer the side from first-five, with no sign of Beauden Barrett and his brothers Scott and Jordie, who have returned to New Zealand to mourn the death of their grandmother.
Lock Brodie Retallick is the only forward retained from the final Rugby Championship test, partnering with Tupou Vaa'i.
George Bower, Dane Coles, and Nepo Laulala comprise a fresh front row, while the loose forward trio features Shannon Frizell, Sam Cane - who'll captain the team - and Hoskins Sotutu at No. 8.
The squad also features the long-awaited return of Anton Lienert-Brown. After missing the entire 2022 test schedule to date due to an injury suffered back in March, the Chiefs star will make his international comeback off the pine.
After being called up as a late replacement from the All Blacks XV, Patrick Tuipulotu will back-up as lock from the bench alongside hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho, prop Tyrel Lomax, halfback Aaron Smith, and midfielder David Havili.
Foster said striking the all-important balance between continuity and building experience had been the key concern in selecting this weekend's team.
"This northern tour is going to be huge," said Foster. "We see four incredibly tough tests ahead and this one against Japan will ask some serious questions of us.
"We want to show that we are ready to respond. We want to show that we have put in the work required to lift our game even further after the Rugby Championship.
"We have a lot of respect for Japanese rugby, the fans and the culture of this country as a whole. What an exciting way to kick off the next part of our journey as a group."
The All Blacks will make their debut at Japan's National Stadium, which hosted last year's Olympic Games. With a sell-out crowd of 65,000, it will be Japan's largest ever crowd in an international rugby match played outside the 2019 World Cup.
The All Blacks last played Japan during the year-end tour of 2018, when they prevailed 69-31.
All Blacks: 1-George Bower, 2-Dane Coles, 3-Nepo Laulala, 4-Brodie Retallick, 5-Tupou Vaa'i, 6-Shannon Frizell, 7-Sam Cane, 8-Hoskins Sotutu, 9-Finlay Christie, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-Caleb Clarke, 12-Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 13-Braydon Ennor, 14-Sevu Reece, 15-Stephen Perofeta
Reserves: 16-Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17-Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18-Tyrel Lomax, 19-Patrick Tuipulotu, 20-Dalton Papali'i, 21-Aaron Smith, 22-David Havili, 23-Anton Lienert-Brown
Join us for live updates of the All Blacks' northern tour, starting 6:50pm Saturday against Japan
