Ardie Savea will captain the All Blacks against Australia, in place of the injured Sam Cane, for the Bledisloe Cup clash at the MCG on Saturday.
Cane suffered a neck strain in the 35-20 win over the Springboks in Auckland two weeks ago and has been replaced on the openside flank by Dalton Papali’i.
Among the replacements are uncapped Hurricanes scrumhalf Cam Roigard and veteran lock Sam Whitelock, who is in line for his 144th cap in what would be his first Test appearance in eight months. Whitelock aggravated an Achilles tendon injury when helping his Crusaders beat the Waikato Chiefs in the Super Rugby Pacific final five weeks ago.Cane returned as skipper this year for the opening 41-12 win over the Pumas in Argentina and the defeat of the Springboks, but he hands the armband to fellow-loose forward Savea, who will lead the All Blacks for the fifth time.
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