Ioane remains on Blues bench
Ioane joins All Black prop Charlie Faumuina on the bench while there are a further six changes to the to the matchday squad that beat the Highlanders 33-31 in the opening round at Eden Park, for their next Super Rugby match against the Crusaders on Friday
Blues captain Jerome Kaino returns to the starting XV after serving a suspension. He was red carded by referee Brendon Pickerill under law 10.4 (a) for striking Chiefs prop Pauliasi Manu during their final pre-season fixture in Pukekohe.
The only other change to the forwards sees Quentin MacDonald switching with James Parsons at hooker. Billy Guyton and Matt McGahan join forces in a new halfback combination with Rene Ranger earning a start, swapping with Male Sau.
Matt Duffie will make his debut at fullback, with coaches not taking any risks with a niggling injury for Lolagi Visinia. It also marks the 50th Blues cap for loose forward Steven Luatua, who impressed in the victory over the Highlanders.
Coach Tana Umaga said the Blues has competition for places across most positions and with half of the squad new this season, they are yet to settle on their top line-up.
"We are going to need the entire squad throughout the year, so it is important they get a taste of Super Rugby from the start. There's real competition for places as well. Pre-season is one thing, but we need to test some different players and different combinations.
"Also, we do not want to get to the situation where we are forced to put players into roles without them first experiencing it – for their sakes and for us as coaches to evaluate their performance. We are really comfortable with the changes and like last week, we feel we also have some firepower coming off the bench," Umaga said.
Blues: 15 Matt Duffie, 14 Melani Nanai, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 George Moala, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Matt McGahan, 9 Billy Guyton, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Blake Gibson, 6 Jerome Kaino (captain), 5 Josh Bekhuis, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Sione Mafileo, 2 Quentin MacDonald, 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi.
Replacements: 16 James Parsons, 17 Sam Prattley, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Akira Ioane, 20 Kara Pryor, 21 Bryn Hall, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Male Sa'u.
Date: Friday, March 4
Venue: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Kick-off: 19.35 (06.35 GMT)
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
