Dan Carter will start his first Test in almost a year, and the captain Richie McCaw will play at blindside flanker for the first time, when New Zealand meet Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Carter has not started a game for the world champions since last November’s win against England at Twickenham, when he won his 100th cap, and the 32-year-old has barely played at all in 2014 following a six-month sabbatical and his recovery from a broken leg.
McCaw, who has played openside flanker for the majority of his distinguished career, will make his first appearance in the No6 jersey for the All Blacks as Steve Hansen gives the understudy Sam Cane valuable game time.
“If you are thinking are we turning Richie into a six? Then no,” the coach said. “This is a chance to start, and have some planning and training time to grow and see how the combination goes. But we’ve got no long-term thoughts of moving Rick to six. We think Scotland are going to try to play an open game and we want to put as much pressure on them at the breakdown as we can.”
The hooker James Parsons, who was called into the squad after Nathan Harris was sent home with an ankle injury, will also make his Test debut at Murrayfield in an experimental team that includes the fly-half Colin Slade at right wing.
New Zealand team
New Zealand B Smith; C Slade, M Fekitoa, R Crotty, C Piutau; D Carter; T J Perenara; V Vito, S Cane, R McCaw, D Bird, J Thrush, C Faumuina, J Parsons, J Moody. Replacements D Coles, W Crockett, B Franks, L Romano, L Messam, A Pulu, SB Williams, J Savea.
