All Blacks go in fully-loaded for final World Cup warm-up against the Boks

New Zealand have named a very strong side to take on South Africa in their final match before the Rugby World Cup.

There are four alterations from the XV, which finished the Rugby Championship campaign with a victory over Australia.

The All Blacks defeated the Wallabies 38-7 in Melbourne in July to retain their title, and the majority of that run-on side take to the field on Friday.

They fielded a makeshift side for the second Bledisloe Cup match, an encounter New Zealand narrowly won 23-20, but the three-time world champions are back at close to full strength here.

Injuries upfront

Two of the absentees are enforced, with Brodie Retallick and Shannon Frizell currently nursing injuries, and are likely to miss their Rugby World Cup opener against France.

Head coach Ian Foster has named Sam Whitelock, who himself is easing his way back from injury, and Luke Jacobson as their respective replacements.

Sam Cane missed the Rugby Championship finale due to an issue picked up in their victory over Argentina, but starts his second game in succession after playing against the Wallabies in Dunedin.

The final change comes at hooker, with Dane Coles starting ahead of Codie Taylor, who is not in the 23.

Foster has resisted the urge to make any alterations to the backline from that last Rugby Championship match, with Richie Mo’unga and Aaron Smith combining at half-back.

Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane are once again the centre combination, while Mark Telea, Will Jordan and Beauden Barrett make up the back three.

6-2 bench

The presence of Mo’unga and the oldest Barrett in the side means that Foster is experimenting with a 6-2 split on the bench.

No doubt the forward power of South Africa has played a part in that decision, with locks Josh Lord and Tupou Vaa’i both among the replacements.

Papali’i is the back-row cover, while it is a big game for young props Tamaiti Williams and Fletcher Newell, who will be tested by the Springboks’ ‘Bomb Squad.’

New Zealand: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Telea, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Luke Jacobson, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Sam Whitelock, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Tupou Vaa’i, 21 Dalton Papali’i, 22 Cam Roigard, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Date: Friday, August 25
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 19:30 BST (18:30 GMT)
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees: Christophe Ridley (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Tom Foley (England)