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Beauden Barrett will captain New Zealand for the first time at Twickenham against the Barbarians on Saturday and three uncapped players have been named among the replacements.
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Barrett missed the defeat to Australia in the final Bledisloe Cup match last month as he was struggling with symptoms of concussion.
The playmaker will return at fly-half for the All Blacks‘ first match of the tour this weekend, so Lima Sopoaga drops to the bench.
Hooker Asafo Aumua, prop Tim Perry and outside back Matt Duffie are set to make their debuts from the bench.
WATCH | Steve Hansen talks about the selections for the #AllBlacks 23 to take on @Barbarian_FC this weekend.
TEAM: https://t.co/LnBlezTAT4 pic.twitter.com/s36EbOTI5o
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) November 2, 2017
All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen said: “It’s very rare that we get the chance to play a non-Test match in the modern era and it’s given us the chance to give our full squad an opportunity to stake claims for future matches and gain valuable big-match experience.
“The expected crowd of 65-70 thousand will create a Test-like atmosphere and the quality of the opposition will also add to the occasion.
“It looks set to be a very entertaining match so those who come to the game shouldn’t go home disappointed.”
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New Zealand: David Havili, Waisake Naholo, Anton Lienert-Brown, Ngani Laumape, Seta Tamanivalu, Beauden Barrett (captain), TJ Perenara; Kane Hames, Nathan Harris, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Luke Romano, Scott Barrett, Vaea Fifita, Ardie Savea, Jerome Kaino.
Replacements: Asafo Aumua, Tim Perry, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Patrick Tuipulotu, Sam Cane, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Lima Sopoaga, Matt Duffie.
