Friday 7 August 2015 16:39, UK
New Zealand captain Richie McCaw will have the big stage of the Rugby Championship decider against Australia to equal the mark of becoming the world's most-capped rugby player.
When the 34-year-old leads the All Blacks out on Saturday at the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, he will be appearing in his 141st Test for New Zealand, matching the record for most caps set by Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll.
In his 140 Tests to date, McCaw has only lost 14 matches.
Winger Nehe Milner-Skudder will also make his debut in a New Zealand line-up that will be close to full strength as head coach Steve Hansen prepares his squad for the World Cup starting next month.
The New Zealand starting line-up for the game will feature players with a total of 868 Test caps, with another 183 on the bench.
New Zealand and Australia are both unbeaten in this season's Rugby Championship and are tied on nine points apiece.
Saturday's match will decide the winner of the shortened Rugby Championship and will also be the first leg of a two-match series for the Bledisloe Cup between the two southern hemisphere rivals, with the return scheduled for a week later in Auckland.
"The Bledisloe Cup is an important trophy for New Zealand rugby and for this team, and Australia is one of our oldest opponents," Hansen said.
"We are well aware that they have made improvements and that their coach (Michael) Cheika wants them to be more physical and more consistent."
Milner-Skudder will have the opportunity to make his case for a World Cup spot for the All Blacks, starting on the right wing.
Julian Savea returns on the left wing for his first Test of the year, Ben Smith replaces Israel Dagg at full-back, and Sonny Bill Williams will start at inside centre in place of Ma'a Nonu, who has a shoulder injury.
Dan Carter will start at fly-half in his 105th Test. The leading points scorer in Test rugby, Carter needs just nine points to reach the milestone of 1,500.
For the forwards, Jerome Kaino returns on the blind-side flank and Luke Romano will start at lock in place of Sam Whitelock. Along with Whitelock, the bench also features the return of prop Nepo Laulala and flanker Sam Cane.
New Zealand: 15-Ben Smith; 14-Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13-Conrad Smith, 12-Sonny Bill Williams, 11-Julian Savea; 10-Dan Carter, 9-Aaron Smith; 1-Tony Woodcock, 2-Dane Coles, 3-Owen Franks, 4-Brodie Retallick; 5-Luke Romano, 6-Jerome Kaino; 7-Richie McCaw (capt), 8-Kieran Read
Replacements: 16-Codie Taylor, 17-Ben Franks, 18-Nepo Laulala, 19-Sam Whitelock, 20-Sam Cane, 21-TJ Perenara, 22-Beauden Barrett, 23-Malakai Fekitoa.
Watch Australia take on New Zealand in the Rugby Championship live on Sky Sports 3 from 10.30am on Saturday.
