The All Blacks have named a strong team to play South Africa
The All Blacks rarely opt for a 6-2 split on the bench but they have chosen the set-up for when they take on South Africa at Twickenham on Friday.
The Springboks famously unleash their ‘Bomb Squad‘ from the bench and New Zealand will look to match them. And while they will call upon their forward replacements, they may not need them to make a dent in the scoreboard after naming a strong team.
All three Barrett brothers start with Scott in his usual position of lock. Beauden is at full-back with Jordie at centre, Richie Mo’unga starts at fly-half with New Zealand’s leading caps holder Aaron Smith at scrum-half.
Expert No 8 Ardie Savea also starts with Luke Jacobson and captain Sam Cane completing the back row.
Savea said of South Africa: “They pose a massive threat around their physicality, their threats around the breakdown, so we’ve got to nail our structures, our game plan and be ready for things that go our way.”
The match will be both teams’ last of the Summer Series ahead of the Rugby World Cup starting on 8 September. The All Blacks’ first match will open the tournament against hosts France. And South Africa will take on Scotland on 10 September.
Here are the full teams for the match on Friday.
New Zealand: Beauden Barrett; Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Mark Telea; Richie Mo’unga, Aaron Smith; Ethan de Groot, Dane Coles, Tyrel Lomax, Samuel Whitelock, Scott Barrett, Luke Jacobson, Sam Cane (capt), Ardie Savea.
Replacements: Samisoni Taukei’aho, Tamaiti Williams, Fletcher Newell, Josh Lord, Tupou Vaa’i, Dalton Papali’i, Cam Roigard, Anton Lienert-Brown.
South Africa: Damian Willemse; Kurt-Lee Arendse, Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi; Manie Libbok, Faf de Klerk; Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx, Frans Malherbe, Eben Etzebeth, Franco Mostert, Siya Kolisi (capt), Pieter-Steph du Toit, Duane Vermeulen.
Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche, Trevor Nyakane, Jean Kleyn, RG Snyman, Marco van Staden, Cobus Reinach, Willie le Roux.
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