The latest twist in the All Blacks fullback debate has ruled Beauden Barrett out of the opening Bledisloe Cup test in Wellington on Sunday.
Barrett, named to start at fullback and continue his dual playmaking duties with Richie Mo'unga, tweaked his Achilles in training on Friday and the All Blacks have opted to err on the side of caution.
"Beauden is out and Damian [McKenzie] is in at 15," All Blacks coach Ian Foster said in a brief media stand-up as his men completed their captain's run at Sky Stadium on Saturday afternoon. "Beauden's Achilles flared up a little bit at training yesterday afternoon. It settled down overnight, not too bad, he's out there kicking now but we've made a decision first test to pull him out early."
Barrett's injury is minor, with Foster expecting him to recover for next week's second Bledisloe tie at Eden Park.
"It certainly looks like that he's out there kicking now and running around but the way it tightened up and impacted on him yesterday we don't want to take that chance tomorrow."