Sam Cane will return as All Blacks captain in their final World Cup Pool A game against Uruguay on Thursday, when a bonus-point win would guarantee New Zealand a spot in the knockout rounds.Coach Ian Foster made nine changes to the starting side that thrashed Italy 96-17 at the same OL Stadium last weekend, resting regular starters such as Ardie Savea, Aaron Smith and Rieko Ioane ahead of the quarterfinals.
"We've selected the team that we think is best for this game. It's obviously a must-win for us and that's our No 1 focus," Foster told a news conference on Tuesday.
"Then we made a couple of tweaks as there were some guys that we felt maybe didn't need a hit out (game), but we can still be in really good great shape because of that.
"I think you'll see when you look at the team, there's a lot of continuity in many aspects."
Lock Sam Whitelock will make his 150th test appearance in the starting second row along with Tupou Vaa'i, having surpassed Richie McCaw as the most-capped All Black as a replacement against Italy.
Tyrel Lomax comes back into the front row at tighthead prop after returning off the bench against Italy having missed the opening 27-13 loss to pool leaders France and 71-3 win over Namibia with a nasty gash to his leg that required 30 stitches.
Cane also came off the bench after a back problem last week and his return to the starting side means Dalton Papali'i drops out with Ethan Blackadder, a squad injury replacement for winger Emoni Narawa, covering the loose forwards from the bench.
Blindside flanker Shannon Frizell gets another run out after a good showing against Italy on his return from a hamstring strain, while Damian McKenzie has a rare start at fullback with Beauden Barrett benched.
Jordie Barrett keeps the family name in the starting team after being selected in the centres with Anton Leinart-Brown in the wake of his comeback from a knee problem in the Italy drubbing.
Foster said centre David Havili, who has a hamstring issue, was the only player not available because of injury and winger Leicester Fainga'anuku would cover the midfield if necessary.
Foster said despite all the changes that he was not underestimating the threat Uruguay posed.
"The challenge of World Cups is that you've got to make sure that you're prepared for the here and now, with an eye to the future," he added.
"But there's enough challenges in the here and now. I think Uruguay represents some pretty significant challenges in many areas of the game that perhaps we have to get better at for the future anyway."
New Zealand team:
15-Damian McKenzie, 14-Will Jordan, 13-Anton Leinart-Brown, 12-Jordie Barrett, 11-Leicester Fainga'anuku, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 9-Cam Roigard, 8-Luke Jacobson, 7-Sam Cane (captain), 6-Shannon Frizell, 5-Tupou Vaa'i, 4-Sam Whitelock, 3-Tyrel Lomax, 2-Codie Taylor, 1-Ofa Tu'ungafasi
Replacements: 16-Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17-Tamaiti Williams, 18-Fletcher Newell, 19-Scott Barrett, 20-Ethan Blackadder, 21-Finlay Christie, 22-Beauden Barrett, 23-Caleb Clarke
