All Blacks shake up the backline for Ireland
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: The All Blacks coach Ian Foster has named his team to play Ireland at Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.
The forward pack which ran out against Wales two weeks ago has been retained, with the front row of Joe Moody, Codie Taylor and Nepo Laulala.
The second row is the experienced Samuel Whitelock, who will captain the side, and Brodie Retallick, while in the loose forwards, Ethan Blackadder is at blindside flank, Dalton Papalii is at openside, while Ardie Savea is number eight.
Dane Coles comes in as reserve hooker, alongside fellow reserves: props Karl Tu’inukuafe and Tyrel Lomax, lock Tupou Vaa’i and loose forward Akira Ioane.
💥🔙 to 2012 vs Ireland. How good is this Aaron Cruden offload to set up Sonny Bill Williams?!#IREvNZL pic.twitter.com/uXRSRA21an
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) November 10, 2021
In the backs, TJ Perenara is at scrumhalf, with Beauden Barrett at 10, while Anton Lienert-Brown moves to inside centre and Rieko Ioane is at outside.
Sevu Reece is on the left wing, Will Jordan on the right and Jordie Barrett is at fullback.
Scrumhalf Finlay Christie, flyhalf Richie Mo’unga and David Havili are the back reserves.
All Blacks Head Coach Ian Foster said: “We’ve had a great week here in Dublin. We travelled well from Italy and are back into our more traditional routine of hitting a town and then moving onto the next one.
“The weather has been great here and we’ve enjoyed training in those conditions and getting ready for what will be a massive occasion on Saturday.
“We obviously have objectives we want to get out of each training session and we feel we have done that well. The guys are focussed and we achieved what we wanted to achieve.
Speaking on the changes in the starting backline, Foster said: “That’s the way we finished the Welsh game, with Anton moving in, Rieko moving to centre and Sevu on the wing.
“It’s a little bit of a reward for that combination. We’ve been able to use this series of games and the time together to try different things and thought a little change there would be good for us.
“We’re also pretty excited at the impact that Finlay, David and Richie will have off the bench.”
Foster added: “We’ve watched Ireland’s development this year with interest, particularly through the latter part of the Six Nations and last week’s big win over Japan.
“They are certainly playing with confidence and ambition and represent a formidable challenge.
“We have no doubt what Saturday is going to bring at a full Aviva Stadium. It’s a big occasion, rugby is back to Dublin in terms of full grandstands, so we know what it’s going to mean here, and we want that kind of stage. It’s big and it’s exciting and is what motivates this team.”
New Zealand: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Sevu Reece, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Dalton Papalii, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Samuel Whitelock (captain), 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Karl Tu’inukuafe, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Tupou Vaa’i, 20 Akira Ioane, 21 Finlay Christie, 22 Richie Mo’unga, 23 David Havili
Date: Saturday, November 13
Venue: Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 15.15 (15.15 GMT; 04.15 Sunday, November 14 NZT)
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley (RFU) & Christophe Ridley (RFU)
TMO: Tom Foley (RFU)
Lineup 🔥 pic.twitter.com/quWbQCXrct
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) November 11, 2021
