View photos of the squadKEY POINTS:
Uncapped winger Anthony Tuitavake join six veterans of New Zealand's World Cup quarterfinals defeat in the All Blacks team to play the Brian O'Driscoll-led Ireland in Saturday's rugby test.
Tuitavake is the only new cap in the starting XV named Tuesday by coach Graham Henry, but three uncapped
players - lock Anthony Boric, first five-eighths Stephen Donald and flanker Adam Thomson - are included on the bench in a newish combination.
Players returning from last year's 20-18 World Cup quarterfinals loss to France in Cardiff are captain Richie McCaw, loose-forward Rodney So'oialo, lock Ali Williams, first five-eighths Daniel Carter, winger Sitiveni Sivivatu and fullback Mils Muliaina.
Saturday's match, against a full-strength Ireland team, will be New Zealand's first since the Cup and begins Henry's effort to show his reappointment after the Cup failure is justified.
More than half of the players from New Zealand's World Cup squad have now either retired or moved offshore and Henry included six new caps in the 26-man squad named on Sunday for tests against Ireland, England and for this season's Tri-Nations competition with South Africa and Australia.
Ireland has never beaten the All Blacks, but O'Driscoll and a team including eight members of the Munster side which recently won Europe's Heineken Cup is well-equipped to take advantage of New Zealand's rebuilding phase and lack of confidence.
O'Driscoll joined the Ireland team on Monday, having remained at home after the departure of the larger squad because of the sudden death of a close friend.
"All I want to say about last week was that it was a brutal week in my life and a lot of my friends' lives," O'Driscoll said. "It came as a shock and I suppose rugby was secondary for that period of time."
Seven members of Ireland's starting forward pack on Saturday are Munstermen. Their might have been eight but flanker Alan Quinlan was ruled out of the match with a thigh strain and Leinster's Jamie Heaslip will start at No. 8.
Leinster also furnishes four members of the backline including the midfield pairing of O'Driscoll and 20-year-old Luke Fitzgerald.
Halfback Eion Reddan was a member of the Wasps team which recently won the English premiership, bringing more bullish confidence to the lineup.
"When you look at the provincial setups, one team won the Magners League (Leinster) and one team won the Heineken Cup," O'Driscoll said. "There are guys back and used to winning things. When you put all that into the melting pot it's a great combination to have."
Teams:
New Zealand: Mils Muliaina, Anthony Tuitavake, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Daniel Carter, Andy Ellis, Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw (captain), Rodney So'oialo, Ali Williams, Brad Thorn, John Afoa, Andrew Hore, Neemia Tialata. Reserves: Keven Mealamu, John Schwalger, Anthony Boric, Jimmy Cowan, Stephen Donald, Leon MacDonald
Ireland: Robert Kearney, Shane Horgan, Brian O'Driscoll (captain), Luke Fitzgerald, Tommy Bowe, Ronan O'Gara, Eoin Reddan, Jamie Heaslip, David Wallace, Denis Leamy, Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul O'Connell, John Hayes, Jerry Flannery, Marcus Horan. Reserves: Girvan Dempsey, Paddy Wallace, Peter Stringer, Shane Jennings, Mick O'Driscoll, Tony Buckley, Rory Best.
