All Blacks coach Steve Hansen rings the changes with British & Irish Lions tour in mind
Liam Squire will make his first test start, while Anton Lienert-Brown, Patrick Tuipulotu and TJ Perenara also come in
Rookie loose forward Liam Squire will make his first test start as All Blacks coach Steve Hansen reinstated his policy of developing depth for the Rugby Championship clash with Argentina in Buenos Aires on Sunday morning (Hong Kong time).
Squire, who has made three test appearances from the bench, replaces the injured Jerome Kaino at blindside flanker for the match at Estadio Jose Amalfitani, with Patrick Tuipulotu also coming into the starting side in place of Sam Whitelock.
The All Blacks have already wrapped up this year’s title after four successive wins with a settled selection policy but Hansen wants to give fringe players more opportunities to help develop depth ahead of next year’s British & Irish Lions tour.
“Our key focus was to select a team that would maintain a high standard of performance and also allow us to grow our player depth and experience in the test arena,” Hansen said of the changes to the side who beat South Africa 41-13 in Christchurch.
“We also took into consideration the fact that we have seven tests under our belts this year and more tests and a lot of international travel to come.
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