New Zealand v Samoa
Venue Eden Park.
Kick-off: 8pm local time (9am Irish), Friday.
On TV: Live on Sky Sports.
The All Blacks will cram their preparations for the forthcoming three-Test series into one hit-out against Samoa in their Eden Park fortress, and despite this being their first game of the year anything less than a handsome win would be a surprise.
In what Warren Gatland said looks like a first-choice team allowing for the possibility of the injured Kieran Read and/or Ryan Crotty coming back into the frame next, even without their 97-times captain the All Blacks' starting XV still boasts caps.
With the Lions looming, this is no time for experimentation, although the uncapped duo of Vaea Fifita and Jordie Barrett are on the bench, the latter's debut meaning the Barretts could become the first trio of brothers to play for the All Blacks in the same game.
Casting a more than interested glance toward the Lions, Steve Hansen ventured: "I think there is a clear difference between their two teams – their midweek team and their Saturday team. It was a good game of footie on Tuesday night in Dunedin and both teams participated in that and it could have gone either way. So I don't think they have lost too much ground in that department. But there is definitely a difference between the two squads in the way they are performing."
Yet he maintained the Lions would not be a distraction.
“We try to respect every opponent we play,” said Hansen. “While the Lions is a dance that’s happening in the background and we are watching that with interest of course there is a responsibility to the jersey and to the players that have been before us that we take this Test match seriously and respect Samoan rugby. They are a very good team and on their day can cause an upset. We don’t want to be the upset.”
Although relatively experienced, the Samoan starting team has been drawn together from 15 different clubs based in five different countries, and haven’t played since last November when beaten 52-8 by France. They will assuredly play with spirit, but they have slipped to 14th in the world rankings, may well struggle at set-piece time and overall look in need of fresh talent.
Coach Alama Ieremia, who played for both Samoa and the All Blacks, has said: “We’ve picked guys to play with tempo. The All Blacks are not a team you experiment with, so this is our strongest squad. We’ll find out where we are at as a team after this Friday.
"The excitement of playing the All Blacks is something we embraced early on and we fitted it into our build-up. There's a lot of history at Eden Park, and a lot of players are from Auckland, plus it is a [Pasifika Challenge] double-header," Ieremia says in reference to the preceding Tonga v Wales game which is part of this Eden Park double-header.
The All Blacks put a century on Samoa in 2008, while they have recorded half-centuries in three of their other five wins, and it will be a surprise if they don’t hit such heights again.
NEW ZEALAND: B Smith (Highlanders, capt), I Dagg (Crusaders), A Lienert-Brown (Chiefs), S B Williams (Blues), J Savea (Hurricanes); B Barrett (Hurricanes), A Smith (Highlanders); J Moody (Crusaders), C Taylor (Crusaders), O Franks (Crusaders), S Whitelock (Crusaders), B Retallick (Chiefs), J Kaino (Blues), S Cane (Chiefs), A Savea (Hurricanes). Replacements: N Harris (Chiefs), W Crockett (Crusaders), C Faumuina (Blues), S Barrett (Crusaders), V Fifita (Hurricanes), TJ Perenara (Hurricanes), L Sopoaga (Highlanders), J Barrett (Hurricanes).
MANU SAMOA: A Tuala (Northampton), A Nikoro (West Scarborough), K Fonotia (Ospreys), A Leiua (Wasps), T Nanai Williams (Chiefs), T Pisi (Bristol), K Fotualii (Bath); V Afatia (Racing 92), M Leiataua (Bayonne), C Johnston (Toulouse), C Vui (Worcester Warriors), F Lemalu (Saracens), P Faasalele (Toulouse), J Lam (Bristol), F Levave (Mitsubishi). Replacements: S Lam (Nevers), N Leatigaga, (Piacenza), P Alo-Emile (Stade Francais), T Tuifua (Lyon), A Faosiliva (Worcester Warriors), A Falealii (Nevers), D Leuila (Papatoetoe), K Pisi (Northampton).
