Steve Hansen has shown his hand, then, and it includes three changes to the side who beat Samoa 78-0 last week. At least one of them was easy to see coming. Kieran Read is back at No8 – as everyone knew he would be. But the other two have caught a few by surprise. Ryan Crotty is in at outside centre, ahead of Anton Lienert-Brown. And in the biggest twist, the 20-year-old Rieko Ioane starts on the left wing. Julian Savea, who has scored 46 tries in 53 Tests, the last of them only last weekend, did not even make it on to the bench. Given that Read has hardly played this year and has only just recovered from a broken thumb, Crotty is back from a rib cartilage injury and that both missed the match against Samoa, there’s a little more rust on this All Blacks XV than Hansen might like.
Related: Elliot Daly starts for British & Irish Lions in first Test against All Blacks
The decision to leave out Savea is either a mistake or a marker of just how ruthless this All Blacks team are
Related: British & Irish Lions have gone for a side to keep the All Blacks guessing | Robert Kitson
Continue reading...