Scott Robertson has made three changes to the backline for Saturday鈥檚 Bledisloe Cup test in Wellington with Sam Cane to play his 100th test for the All Blacks.
Cane and TJ Peranara will both start in their final tests on home soil, with the former skipper becoming the 13th All Black to mark 100 tests. Beauden Barrett still start in the No 10 jersey, replacing Damian McKenzie who moves to the bench. In other backline changes, Anton Lienert-Brown replaces the injured Jordie Barrett at second five-eighth with halfback Perenara starting over Cortez Ratima.
鈥淭his will be a particularly special night for Sam and TJ and the boys will put in a performance that honours their contribution to this team. Sam will be joining an exclusive club of All Black centurions, which is testament to his fortitude and work ethic,鈥 Robertson said.
鈥淎s a Wellington man and the most-capped Hurricane of all time, we know that TJ is a crowd favourite in the capital and we look forward to him expressing himself on the field in front of friends and wh膩nau at home.鈥
On the bench, Blues skipper Patrick Tuipulotu returns while David Havili replaces Harry Plummer who was a late replacement in Sydney.
McKenzie has started every test this season and Robertson said he can play a key role from the bench.
鈥淒amian McKenzie can provide experienced cover at both first five and fullback, as Beauden has previously, and it is great to bring David Havili in to complete the 23, providing strong depth across the back line. We are excited about the opportunity this week to put in a complete performance against the Wallabies in Wellington.鈥
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All Blacks v Australia history听
Played 177听
All Blacks won 124听
Australia 45听
Drawn 8听
All Blacks points 3959听
Australia points 2591听
The听All Blacks听have won eight straight against the听Wallabies, their last defeat back in 2020. New Zealand鈥檚 longest winning streak against Australia is 10.听
All Blacks recent record in Wellington听
Sky Stadium has not been a great venue for the All Blacks of late. They鈥檝e had one win in their past seven tests in Wellington, going back to the 2017 British and Irish Lions series. The last time Australia visited, the Wallabies left with a 16-16 draw after听Jordie Barrett nailed a 79th-minute penalty听to earn a face-saving result. The All Blacks鈥 last two tests in the capital have resulted in a 10-point defeat and an eight-point loss. Ouch.听
Since 2017听
Lions 24 All Blacks 21, 2017听
All Blacks 26 France 13, 2018听
South Africa 36 All Blacks 34, 2018听
All Blacks 16 South Africa 16, 2019听
All Blacks 16 Australia 16, 2020听
Ireland 32 All Blacks 22, 2022听
Argentina 38 All Blacks 30, 2024听
Australia have played the All Blacks six times at Sky Stadium, their only win coming in the 2000 test when John Eales kicked a late winning penalty. They drew the last encounter 16-16 in 2020. Australia do have two other victories at Sky Stadium, both at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, beating USA 67-5 and a quarter-final win over South Africa 11-9.听
Australia also have victories over the All Blacks at Athletic Park in 1949, 1964, 1982, 1986 and 1990.听
All Blacks v Australia line-ups听
All Blacks听
When is the All Blacks team named? Thursday 11am听
Australia听
Named Thursday听
Sam Cane to join All Blacks鈥 100 club听
The All Blacks No 7 is expected to reach 100 tests when he takes the field in Wellington on Saturday. Cane has made 76 international starts, with 23 appearances off the bench. He has already reached 100 games for the All Blacks as he played the Barbarians in 2017. Cane made his debut against Ireland in 2012, a 22-19 win in Christchurch. He didn鈥檛 lose a test until his 23rd match for New Zealands.听
The only top-tier team Sam Cane has never beaten is England. Amazingly, of his 99 tests, Cane has only played England once, which was the 2019 semifinal defeat.听
List of teams Sam Cane has played听
Australia (24), Argentina (17), South Africa (16), Ireland (9), France (8), Wales (5), Italy (4), British and Irish Lions (3), Japan (2), Scotland (2), Namibia (2), United States (2), England (1) Tonga (1), Samoa (1), Barbarians (1), Georgia (1), Uruguay (1).听
All Blacks to play 100 tests听
Sam Whitelock 153听
Richie McCaw 148听
Keven Mealamu 132听
Beauden Barrett 130听
Kieran Read 127听
Aaron Smith 125听
Tony Woodcock 118听
Dan Carter 112听
Brodie Retallick 109听
Owen Franks 108听
Ma鈥檃 Nonu 103听
Mils Muliaina 100听
All Blacks v Australia form guide (last five tests)听
All Blacks: W, L, L, W, L听
Australia: L, L, W, L, L听
All Blacks v Australia referee听
Nika Amashukeli of Georgia will be in control of the second Bledisloe Cup test. He鈥檚 been in charge of the All Blacks鈥 three tests previously including Argentina鈥檚 25-18 defeat in Christchurch two years ago. Amashukeli was referee of the All Blacks鈥 first test this season, a 16-15 win over England in Dunedin. Australia are 2-0 in games with Amashukeli in charge.听
All Blacks v Australia TAB odds听
All Blacks: $1.06 Draw: $26 Australia: $7听
All Blacks v Australia - how to follow the action听
For live commentary of All Blacks v Australia, join Elliott Smith on 九一星空无限talk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio.听
The Alternative Commentary Collective will have live commentary from James McOnie & Tony Lyall from 7pm on Sky Sport 9 and iHeartRadio.听
You can watch the game on Sky Sport 1 and it will be livestreaming on Sky Sport Now.听
You can also find live updates at听.听
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