Fiji-born wing Emoni Narawa will make his New Zealand debut in their Rugby Championship opener against Argentina in Mendoza on Saturday, while flyhalf Damian McKenzie and lock Josh Lord feature for the first time since 2021.
Narawa will earn his first cap a few days shy of his 24th birthday, with Caleb Clarke on the other wing and Beauden Barrett at fullback.
The versatile McKenzie has been preferred to Richie Mo’unga in the number 10 jersey, though the latter is on the bench and may be being held back for the home game against South Africa in Auckland a week later.
Rieko Ioane and Jordie Barrett make up the centre pairing in Mendoza, while scrumhalf Aaron Smith will extend his record number of All Blacks caps for a back to 114.
Lord will partner the third Barrett brother, Scott, in the second row, while in front of them are props Tyrel Lomax and Ethan de Groot, and hooker Dane Coles.
The back row of the scrum includes captain Sam Cane and fellow flanker Shannon Frizell. Ardie Savea starts at number eight.
“We have taken the need to build combinations in a vital year and balanced it with the need to manage the squad after Super Rugby,” coach Ian Foster said in a media release from New Zealand Rugby.
“This is obviously a massive year and we are really confident in the way that we’ve been building. We have had a short build-up but an effective one.”
Last year was a difficult one for the side despite their victory in the Rugby Championship, but Foster says there is a real desire to start this campaign on a positive note.
“We have loved our time here in Mendoza for what will be a tremendous challenge,” he said. “We’ve enjoyed seeing how excited everyone is for this weekend’s game and can’t wait to get stuck into our work.”
New Zealand team:
15-Beauden Barrett, 14-Emoni Narawa, 13-Rieko Ioane, 12-Jordie Barrett, 11-Caleb Clarke, 10-Damian McKenzie, 9-Aaron Smith, 8-Ardie Savea, 7-Sam Cane (captain), 6-Shannon Frizell, 5-Josh Lord, 4-Scott Barrett, 3-Tyrel Lomax, 2-Dane Coles, 1-Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16-Codie Taylor, 17-Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18-Nepo Laulala, 19-Tupou Vaa’i, 20-Dalton Papali’i, 21-Finley Christie, 22-Richie Mo’unga, 23-Braydon Ennor.
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