Sonny Bill Williams will play his first Rugby Championship match of the year and prop Angus Ta'avao looks set to make his debut off the bench after Steve Hansen named a much-changed All Blacks team for this weekend's Test against Argentina.
The All Blacks coach made seven changes to the match day squad that lost to at home to the Springboks two weeks ago for the match against the Pumas at Velez Sarsfeld, where New Zealand could wrap up a third successive title.
He’s back: Sonny Bill Williams will return from injury against Argentina.
Lock Sam Whitelock will lead the side in place of rested captain Kieran Read, while his brother Luke stands in for the No.8 in the back row.
Ofa Tuungafasi starts in place of Owen Franks at tighthead prop with the uncapped Ta'avao, who came into the squad earlier in the championship as injury cover for Joe Moody, named among the replacements.
Shannon Frizell will win his fourth cap at blindside flanker in place of Liam Squire, who has been ruled out for the rest of the championship with a hand injury.
Damian McKenzie returned to New Zealand after a family bereavement, forcing one change to a backline that will include Williams for only the second time this year.
Twice World Cup winner Williams injured his shoulder in the third Test against France in June after missing the first two games of that series with a knee problem.
The 33-year-old slots back in at inside centre with Ryan Crotty moving out to take the No.13 shirt, while TJ Perenara starts at scrumhalf, Waisake Naholo gets a run on the wing and Ben Smith moves to fullback.
"He's got a high energy level, he has a high work rate, good defender, good attacker, he's got an offload, he takes a little bit of looking after," Hansen said of Williams.
"But you know we're not expecting too much of him tomorrow, he hasn't played for quite a long time so just how long he is out there for we'll wait and see. His return is because he is one of our best players and we need him back on the track."
New Zealand have not lost two matches in a row since 2011 and Hansen said his team would be well prepared for a confident Pumas side coming off a first win over the Wallabies in Australia for 35 years.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is wary of the in-form Pumas.
"We've picked what we believe is the best team for this particular test match," he said.
"Argentina are a very good side who have shown they can win both away and at home. They're full of confidence and self-belief which will make them a very dangerous beast.
"We've taken some key learnings from the loss to South Africa, which we look forward to implementing on Saturday."
For the home side, Ramiro Herrera and Bautista Ezcurra were called up as the South Americans made two changes to their line-up.
Herrera will be returning at prop, while Ezcurra will come in at centre to replace injured Ramiro Moyano, the Pumas said.
Matias Moroni will move to wing, with Ezcurra joining Jeronimo de la Fuente in the centres, the Pumas said in announcing the team via twitter.
Matias Orlando and Sebastian Cancelliere, who have both yet to play in this year's Rugby Championship, return as replacements for Saturday's game at Velez Sarsfield.
The Argentines will be looking for their first win against New Zealand in what will be the 28th encounter between the two sides.
New Zealand could clinch the championship with a win and a bonus point against a side ranked eight places below them in the world standings.
Breakthrough: Argentina are coming off a landmark victory in Australia.
Until this year, the South Americans had never won two games in the same Rugby Championship season since joining back in 2012. However, this year they have beaten both Australia and South Africa as they enjoy their best ever performance in the tournament.
The match in Velez Sarsfield is a 50,000 sell out.
Argentina team: 15-Emiliano Boffelli, 14-Bautista Delguy, 13-Jeronimo De La Fuente, 12-Bautista Ezcurra, 11-Matias Moroni, 10-Nicolas Sanchez, 9-Gonzalo Bertranou, 8-Javier Ortega Desio, 7-Marcos Kremer, 6-Pablo Matera, 5-Tomas Lavanini, 4-Guido Petti, 3-Ramiro Herrera, 2-Agustin Creevy, 1-Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro.
Replacements: 16-Julian Montoya, 17-Juan Pablo Zeiss, 18-Santiago Medrano, 19-Matias Alemanno, 20-Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 21-Tomas Cubelli, 22-Matias Orlando, 23-Sebastian Cancelliere.
New Zealand team: 15-Ben Smith, 14-Waisake Naholo, 13-Ryan Crotty, 12-Sonny Bill Williams, 11-Rieko Ioane, 10-Beauden Barrett, 9-TJ Perenara, 8-Luke Whitelock, 7-Sam Cane, 6-Shannon Frizell, 5-Scott Barrett, 4-Sam Whitelock (captain), 3-Ofa Tuungafasi, 2-Codie Taylor, 1-Karl Tu'inukuafe.
Replacements: 16-Nathan Harris, 17-Tim Perry, 18-Angus Ta'avao, 19-Patrick Tuipulotu, 20-Ardie Savea, 21-Aaron Smith, 22-Richie Mo'unga, 23-Anton Lienert-Brown.
Reuters
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