Rugby: Moala rises from Blues to All Black

Brutal running game earns winger place in starting line-up to face physical Samoa.

A season of relentless lows for George Moala has spiked to an unprecedented high with the Blues utility back named to win his first test cap against Samoa.

Moala will take his place on the right wing, in a starting XV that also sees Andy Ellis make his first appearance in a black jersey since he booted the ball into the crowd to bring the 2011 World Cup final to a close.

The bench features three uncapped players in Nepo Laulala, Brad Weber and Charlie Ngatai and Hika Elliot's miraculous recovery from a near career-ending injury continues with the abrasive hooker hoping he'll come off the bench to win his fourth cap.

Elsewhere the team shapes much as most would have predicted - perhaps with the surprise of Luke Romano starting ahead of Brodie Retallick - given the unavailability of the Highlanders and Hurricanes players.

There's nearly 650 test caps in the pack; an established inside pairing - at Super Rugby level at least - between Ellis and Daniel Carter; a unification of Sonny Bill Williams and Ryan Crotty in the midfield and opportunities for Charles Piutau and Israel Dagg to strengthen their respective cases to be included in the World Cup squad after suffering injury-ravaged seasons so far.

In short, it's a team with the skills, experience and rugby nous to start the season off with a victory.

"It's exciting for the group to be playing this first-ever All Blacks test in Samoa and we know it's going to be a special occasion," says All Black coach Steve Hansen. "The Samoans will be incredibly physical and keen to put in a huge performance in front of their fans and we will have to play with high intensity and accuracy with plenty of physicality."

In what will be an historic and emotional test with multiple story-lines, the selection of Moala stands as one of the more fascinating.

Found guilty of assault earlier in the year, he had to wait until May to discover his sentence - which, if it came with a criminal conviction, would seriously jeopardise his professional contract.

Although he avoided the conviction, he did have to, professionally, endure a horror campaign with the Blues, which saw him shifted to second-five - a position in which he had little prior experience.

While that shift to No 12 highlighted his lack of distribution and wider awareness, it did also provide strong evidence that Moala is in possession of a direct and brutal running game - an invaluable asset if used well.

That power and presence is what the All Blacks are after and Moala has been given the No 14 test jersey with the relatively simple instructions to get his hands on the ball and take on the defence.

It's a message that has effectively been given to the entire team with assistant coach Ian Foster making it clear that the priority in Apia is to nail the basics. "I think the Samoan test is really about establishing our baseline," he said. "It's about making sure that we really focus on the key principles we have been driving for the past two years about width, skill-set and catch-pass."

Starting XV:

1. Tony Woodcock (110)
2. Keven Mealamu (123)
3. Owen Franks (57)
4. Luke Romano (17)
5. Samuel Whitelock (62)
6. Jerome Kaino (56)
7. Richie McCaw - captain (137)
8. Kieran Read (72)
9. Andy Ellis (26)
10. Daniel Carter (102)
11. Charles Piutau (14)
12. Sonny Bill Williams (23)
13. Ryan Crotty (13)
14. George Moala
15. Israel Dagg (46)
Reserves

16. Hikawera Elliot (3)
17. Wyatt Crockett (27)
18. Nepo Laulala
19. Brodie Retallick (36)
20. Matt Todd (2)
21. Brad Weber
22. Colin Slade (17)
23. Charlie Ngatai