Ireland were left embarrassed by a rampant All Black performance.

Twenty five minutes of genius from out-half Aaron Cruden ensured an All Blacks whitewash over a spent Irish team as the world champions ran up a record 60-0 victory at Waikato Stadium.

A brace of tries from Sonny Bill Williams and Sam Cane broke the back of Ireland’s challenge with the match effectively over as New Zealand led 29-0 at half-time.

By the final whistle in Hamilton the All Blacks had run in nine tries in a scintillating show that well and truly ended Ireland’s 11-month season on a low with what was their worst ever defeat to New Zealand.

The home side started the livelier of the two sides with the offloading prowess of Williams providing an ever-present danger.

The All Blacks tested the Irish left to right as referee Roman Poite overlooked a forward pass by Williams before Cruden’s delightful flick pass set up Cane for his first international try.

Cruden stepped up to add the extras despite the best efforts of Keith Earls to distract.

The Chiefs out-half combined with his Super Rugby team-mate Williams again after only 12 minutes with a superb flick pass.

The centre bounced off Fergus McFadden and raced free to touch down with Cruden once again adding the extras.

Peter O’Mahony was pulled up soon after for being offside at a ruck but Cruden’s penalty was left and wide.

That was the only bright point of the opening 20 minutes as Cruden once again combined with Williams for a score.

The diminutive out-half fed his number 12, who stepped inside Paddy Wallace and bounced through Dan Tuohy to dive over for his second. Israel Dagg kicked the conversion.

Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll then squandered position as Ireland made their first meaningful foray into the All Blacks half.

His team harried to get the ball back but when Wallace failed to find O’Driscoll in midfield, Cruden raced free and tossed up a pass that Ben Smith took at full gallop and touched down in the right corner. Dagg missed the conversion as Cruden left the pitch for treatment.

Rob Kearney did well to hold onto an Earls pass at full pace before New Zealand were penalised for going off their feet.

With three points not enough to make a difference on the scoreboard, Ireland went for the five-metre scrum but scrum-half Aaron Smith stole possession and kicked clear.

Poite sent Kearney to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on as the All Blacks swarmed down the right flank.

Beauden Barrett, on for the injured Cruden, marked his debut with a penalty that made it 29-0 at half-time.

Four minutes into the second half Liam Messam burst through two tackles and fed the supporting Aaron Smith.

The scrum-half’s offload bounced off Cane’s chest but the flanker gathered the looping ball and dived over under the posts. Barrett chipped the conversion over.

Left winger Hosea Gear then scored the All Blacks sixth try. He outpaced McFadden and delivered a crunching forearm into Earls’ face before dragging the trailing McFadden over the tryline with him.

Barrett’s conversion missed but Steve Hansen’s men led 41-0 after just 51 minutes.

Five minutes later Cane fed a charging Messam who dived over.

Williams the took a pass on the halfway line and sized up his options before releasing Dagg down the right with a perfectly judged grubber kick.

The full-back evaded the chasing Earls and touched down, with Barrett landing the extras.

Replacement Adam Thomson raced clear for a try after great work from Luke Romano and Barrett in a build-up that left Poite and half the Irish team sprawling on the turf.

Barrett’s successful kick made it 60-0 and left the tourists deflated at the whistle.

New Zealand's Dan Carter, left, is congratulated by Zac Guildford after kicking the winning drop goal against Ireland in the second test on June 16. (Pic: AP/SNPA/Ross Setford)

Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll believes New Zealand remain formidable opponents despite the loss of Dan Carter to injury.

Carter, whose late drop goal broke Ireland’s hearts in last week’s 22-19 defeat, suffered a hamstring injury in training and will be replaced at fly-half by Aaron Cruden for the third Test in Hamilton this weekend.

However, the All Blacks won the World Cup despite losing Carter for much of the tournament and O’Driscoll expects Chiefs star Cruden to seize his chance in the starting line-up.

“They managed okay in the World Cup, didn’t they?” he said.

“Dan Carter is a world-class player but Aaron Cruden is handy enough and he has shown it. The bits I’ve seen of the Super Rugby this season he has been pretty impressive.

“They have to look at life without Dan Carter and it gives Aaron a great opportunity. It is not all about the guy pulling strings at 10, you need smart players around you and I think New Zealand have that.”

While the hosts are without their star man, Ireland will be at full strength after the return to fitness of Keith Earls.

The Munster flyer will line up on the left wing, with Paddy Wallace partnering O’Driscoll at centre and Peter O’Mahony taking Jamie Heaslip’s place at number eight.

The starting line-up is otherwise unchanged from the side that came within 35 seconds of securing a draw with the world champions last week.

Wallace is O’Driscoll’s third different midfield partner in the three-Test series, but the skipper has no doubts over the Ulster player’s capabilities.

“Any time you have someone like Paddy coming in, he will always bring something,” he said. “Not just his playing ability but the character he is around the squad.

“I’ve known Paddy a long time, played underage level with him, under-19s, through college and through senior rugby with Ireland.

“Knowing the type of professional he is, the shape that he has kept himself in, Paddy will do an excellent job. I’m looking forward to reigniting that midfield partnership with him.”

Coach Declan Kidney admitted that it was “not ideal” that Wallace only arrived on Tuesday evening, but he feels the coaching staff have allayed any jet-lag concerns.

He said: “Paddy has always been a great player for Ireland. We talk about the squad ethic and what Paddy has given in the background, and in his 10 years’ service to the Irish team, has been fantastic.”

On Earls, he added: “Keith’s stated preference is he prefers to play at 13 but Brian (O’Driscoll) is not one to give it up too easily.

“He is a great team player and he is happy to be back in. He has rehabbed quite well, which is a credit to the medical team and himself for getting over (his shoulder injury). He has trained well this week.”

Kidney feels Ireland need to show that their rousing performance in the second Test was not a once-off or slip back to the levels displayed in the 42-10 loss in Auckland.

“Last week is over,” he added. “New Zealand are well capable of doing to us what they did at Eden Park again. That fear needs to be within us, to know that it can happen unless we turn up, do our job, and do it to the best of our ability.

“We need to do that and add on that extra 10 per cent that we didn’t have last Saturday.”

Keith Earls tackles New Zeland's Sam Whitelock during the first test in Auckland on June 9. Earls returns to the left wing for the final test on Saturday. (Pic: PA)

Declan Kidney has named the team to play the All Blacks in Hamilton on Saturday, with Keith Earls returning to the left wing.

There are three changes in all from the side that came close to getting a result against the All Blacks in Christchurch last Saturday.

Paddy Wallace, who joined the touring squad this week after Gordon D’Arcy returned home injured, goes straight into the side at inside centre.

Earls has now recovered from the chest injury he picked up in the first test in Auckland and is selected on the left wing in place of Andrew Trimble, who moves to the replacements.

Peter O’Mahony, who came off the bench in Christchurch, is selected to start at No.8 with Jamie Heaslip out after breaking his right index finger on Saturday.

Back-row Chris Henry comes into the replacements to fill the spot left by O’Mahony.

Ireland Team: 15 Rob Kearney; 14 Fergus McFadden; 13 Brian O’Driscoll (Captain); 12 Paddy Wallace; 11 Keith Earls; 10 Jonathan Sexton ; 9 Conor Murray; 1 Cian Healy; 2 Rory Best ; 3  Mike Ross; 4 Dan Tuohy; 5 Donnacha Ryan; 6 Kevin McLaughlin; 7 Seán O’Brien; 8 Peter O’Mahony.

Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin; 17 Declan Fitzpatrick; 18 Donncha O’Callaghan; 19 Chris Henry; 20 Eoin Reddan; 21 – Ronan O’Gara; 22 Andrew Trimble.

Ronan O'Gara is confident Ireland can improve in the final test.

Ireland fly-half Ronan O’Gara is confident his side’s improved showing in the second Test against New Zealand proves that “normal service has resumed”.

O’Gara revealed that Ireland’s poor performance in the first Test at Eden Park, when the side lost 42-10, had shaken the squad.

They were a changed side in Christchurch at the weekend, when only a late Dan Carter drop-goal earned victory for an All Blacks side down to 14 men following the late sin-binning of Israel Dagg.

And while O’Gara was encouraged by that improvement, he admits there should never have been so much ground to make up.

“Ireland did play well the other night,” he said. “The All Blacks were probably in second gear and they had every reason to be in second gear because of the way we played at Eden Park. It is only natural.

“It shouldn’t take something like that to give us a boot up the backside. We have our standards, have our values, for, a lot of us, the last 10 or 12 years.

“Those standards were poor in Auckland but I hope that normal service has resumed. The other side of it is that there is plenty to improve on so we’d like to think we can improve on last week’s performance.”

O’Gara recalled that Ireland made a habit of closing out close games when they won the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2009 but admits they have struggled to replicate that form.

He said: “Fair play to them. They squeezed out a winning position from, probably, an un-winnable position with a man in the bin. That is what they deserve all the credit for.

“That’s what winning teams do and that is exactly what we were like during the year of the Grand Slam. You know where the finishing line is and you do whatever it takes to get over it.

“That is a massive skill in itself and there was massive trust between the players. I think that, since then, there has been a fair bit of change in the team, we are trying to develop.

“We probably hit that level once before (against Australia) during the World Cup when everything was going really well for us before we came unstuck against Wales in a game that was a massive downer for us.

“They were the two times, the Grand Slam year and at the World Cup, when we had this unbelievable belief that, whatever we had, it would be good enough.”

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen claimed after Saturday’s clash that the narrow defeat represented Ireland’s peak, but O’Gara shrugged off his comments.

“A lot of that, you can read into it after an event,” he said. “You could say that it is condescending but I don’t think it was meant like that.

“We all speak with emotions sometimes and that was what Steve felt at the time. I would have no problem with that.

“Steve was probably relieved to get over the finish line as you could see an edge to them.

“When Dan Carter kicked the drop goal, you don’t often see that with the All Blacks, so you could see what it meant to them.”

O’Gara featured as a replacement in the first and second Tests and could start at number 10 if Jonathan Sexton is moved to inside centre in place of the injured Gordon D’Arcy.

The Munster half-back is 35 years old now and Saturday’s third Test at Waikato Stadium realistically represents his last chance to be in an Irish team that defeats the All Blacks.

“It will be interesting to see what happens,” he said. “The most important thing, from a senior player’s point of view, is, inexperience or experience and whether you start or are in the 22, you have to make a positive impact when you come onto the pitch, whether it is one minute or 80 minutes.

“The sooner the 22 start believing and operating like that, I think, Ireland will be in a better place.

“You have to add more than the fella that was there when you do come on. If you think like that it will have a positive impact on the team.”

Brian O'Driscoll reacts to Ireland's defeat to New Zealand at AMI Stadium. (Pic: AP/SNPA, Ross Setford)

Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll claimed his side restored a large measure of pride, despite suffering a last-minute defeat to New Zealand in Christchurch.

With the scores locked at 19-19 after 79 enthralling minutes, Dan Carter’s drop goal had just enough behind it to scrape over Ireland’s bar and give the world champions – playing with 14 men at that stage – a 22-19 win.

Ireland’s performance was much improved from their 42-10 loss in the first Test, though, and O’Driscoll took heart from that.

He said: “We set standards of ourselves and we’re trying to be a consistent team. We dipped below those standards last week, individually and collectively.

“The jersey deserved a little bit more from us and we talked about that this week. Trying to restore a bit of that (pride) in the jersey and I think we did manage to do that. We fell at the final hurdle still.”

But O’Driscoll admitted it was hard to take solace from running the All Blacks so close.

He added: “It is difficult when you have fought your way back into the game and got level on the board. They were a man down for the last seven or eight minutes.

“It is difficult to take any positives from the performance but I’m sure, when we look back, there will be plenty of them.

“We have another goal for next week and we don’t have to finish our season on that (result). We have an opportunity to go to Hamilton and do what, essentially, we failed to do today.”

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said: “We probably shouldn’t have won tonight but the composure we showed allowed us to do that. That is the sign of a good team.

“The big thing tonight is that we have beaten an Irish side that has, probably, played as good as they could have. We didn’t play great.”

Captain Richie McCaw praised his side for maintaining belief in the game-plan in the final stages.

He added he was “quite happy” when referee Nigel Owens awarded his team a penalty from a contentious, wheeled scrum with eight minutes on the clock.

He said: “To be fair, Ireland had pressure on our scrum, but you’ve got to do it legally and, in the view of the referee, they did it (at that scrum) illegally.”

Ireland coach Declan Kidney refused to single out any of the string of decisions that went in New Zealand’s favour following Israel Dagg’s trip to the sin-bin.

He said: “We are just trying to work on what is under our control. We will have a look at it this week, but will only be focusing on what we can control.”

Kidney praised the performance of scrum-half Conor Murray, Ireland’s try-scorer, and insisted there was more to come from the 23-year-old.

Kidney said: “He had the confidence to play a bit more tonight. He showed that with the opportunity that he took.

“(His selection) was a tight call and Eoin Reddan did well. We’ll just have to see how guys pull up during the week.”

O’Driscoll’s midfield partnership with Gordon D’Arcy was responsible for shoring up the Irish backline.

D’Arcy came off with 20 minutes on the clock and Kidney revealed that the inside centre had a tight calf that will be assessed on Monday.

end

Brian O'Driscoll attempts to split New Zealand's defence during the first test in Auckland. (Pic: AP/SNPA, Ross Setford)

Captain Brian O’Driscoll insists Ireland “are not playing here for second best” as they look to respond to their emphatic defeat by the All Blacks when they meet again in Christchurch tomorrow.

Declan Kidney’s side went down 42-10 in the first Test in Auckland with debutant winger Julian Savea running in a hat-trick inside 43 first-half minutes.

The Irish had no answer to the pace and power of the world champions and in response Kidney has made a number of changes to his line-up which will now include 10 Leinster players.

For O’Driscoll it is essential to respond positively to the defeat at Eden Park and he said: “Every time you pull on a Test jersey, irrespective of the occasion, it is special.

“This is no different. We are not playing here for second best.”

O’Driscoll is determined to make his mark in Christchurch – the city where he suffered his shoulder injury as captain of the British and Irish Lions in 2005.

“Time heals all wounds,” he said, “even shoulder wounds.”

O’Driscoll conceded his side would face an emotional rollercoaster as Test rugby returns to an area for the first time since it was hit by a series of devastating earthquakes in 2011.

The players toured the earthquake ‘red zone’ in downtown Christchurch on Thursday and O’Driscoll acknowledged the game would be emotionally charged but he is hoping for support from some Irish abroad.

He said: “I get the feeling that there are quite a few Paddys in Christchurch. We were told at training today that every Irish person in the area was trying to get a ticket for the game.

“We’d like to give them something to cheer about too.”

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen expects Ireland to produce a far better performance, saying: “We are expecting Ireland to improve, as they are a nation with a ‘never-say-die’ attitude so what we did last time won’t be good enough.”

Kidney has brought in Kevin McLaughlin at blindside flanker to replicate the back row that started in the province’s Heineken Cup final win over Ulster in May.

Props Mike Ross and Cian Healy have passed fitness tests and join Rory Best in the front row while Fergus McFadden, scorer of Ireland’s solitary try last week, retains his spot on the right wing.

Simon Zebo, who looked lively in the first Test, drops to defence as Ulster winger Andrew Trimble returns to the side.

O’Driscoll resumes his midfield partnership with Gordon D’Arcy, who comes in for the injured Keith Earls.

Rob Kearney starts at full-back while Kidney has resisted the temptation to pair Leinster half-backs Jonathan Sexton, who starts, and Eoin Reddan. Conor Murray retains the number nine jersey.

The coach admitted Eoin Reddan was unfortunate to miss out on elevation to the starting scrum-half role but insisted the player’s provincial allegiances did not come into his team decisions.

Dan Tuohy and Donnacha Ryan resume their second row partnership, with Kidney emphasising the Ulster man’s proficiency at the line-out as the primary reason why Donncha O’Callaghan remains on the replacements’ bench.

McLaughlin has come back well from an ankle injury earlier in the year, the Dubliner stepping up for his side in the final victory over Ulster and did a lot of grunt work at the breakdown, which allowed Sean O’Brien to make damaging up-field breaks.

Kidney said, “It was a close call between Kevin and Peter O’Mahony. It is about freshening it up a bit but the fact that Kevin will (now) be part of a back row unit many times before, which helps.”

He added, “Usually a back row will plunder well if the front row are doing well ahead of them.”

The All Blacks have made two changes to their squad following the series-ending knee injury to Victor Vito.

Adam Thomson comes in at blindside flanker while the uncapped Sam Cane moves up to take his place on the bench

Declan Kidney said Eoin Reddan narrowly missed out.

Declan Kidney has selected 10 Leinster players in his Ireland team to face New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday.

Kevin McLaughlin has been brought in at blindside flanker to replicate the back row that started in the province’s Heineken Cup final win over Ulster in May.

Props Mike Ross and Cian Healy have passed fitness tests and join Rory Best in the front row while Fergus McFadden, scorer of Ireland’s solitary try last week, retains his spot on the right wing.

Simon Zebo, who looked lively in the first Test, drops to defence as Ulster winger Andrew Trimble returns to the side.

Captain Brian O’Driscoll resumes his midfield partnership Gordon D’Arcy, who comes in for the injured Keith Earls.

Rob Kearney starts at full-back while Kidney has resisted the temptation to pair Leinster half-backs Jonathan Sexton, who starts, and Eoin Reddan. Conor Murray retains the number nine jersey.

The coach admitted that Eoin Reddan was unfortunate to miss out on elevation to the starting scrum-half role.

He added that the player’s provincial allegiances did not come into his team decisions.

Dan Tuohy and Donnacha Ryan resume their second row partnership, with Kidney emphasising Ulster man’s proficiency at the line-out as the primary reason why Donncha O’Callaghan remains on the replacement’s bench.

McLaughlin has come back well from an ankle injury earlier in the year and his coach at Leinster, Joe Schmidt, has described him as a “massive player” for the province.

The Dubliner stepped up for his side in the final victory over Ulster and did a lot of grunt work at the breakdown, which allowed Seán O’Brien to make damaging up-field breaks.

Kidney said: “It was a close call between Kevin and Peter O’Mahony. It is about freshening it up a bit but the fact that Kevin will be part of a back row unit [he has been in] many times before helps.”

He added: “Usually a back row will plunder well if the front row are doing well ahead of them.”

Ireland team: Rob Kearney; Fergus McFadden, Brian O’Driscoll (captain), Gordon D’Arcy, Andrew Trimble; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Cian Healy, Rory Best, Mike Ross, Dan Tuohy, Donnacha Ryan, Kevin McLaughlin, Sean O’Brien, Jamie Heaslip.

Replacements: Sean Cronin, Declan Fitzpatrick, Donncha O’Callaghan, Peter O’Mahony, Eoin Reddan, Ronan O’Gara, Simon Zebo.

Sam Whitelock is tackled by Keith Earls in All Blacks' 42-10 victory over Ireland. (Pic: AP)

Ireland may have lost the first Test against New Zealand by handsome margin and be battling a trio of injuries but lock Donnacha Ryan refuses to be negative ahead of Saturday’s rematch.

The All Blacks eased to a 42-10 win at Eden Park and Ireland later confirmed the match also left back utility Keith Earls with a pectoral injury that will keep him out of the second Test.

Props Cian Healy (shoulder) and Declan Fitzpatrick (buttock muscle) are also short of full fitness following the match and will be monitored this week.

But Ryan has no intention of feeling downbeat with two matches still to play in the series.

“You’ve got to look at it like a (glass) half-full situation and not get discouraged when things go wrong. You have to keep persevering when things go wrong.

“It is important not to drop the head. The world keeps spinning so we’ve got to keep going. Next week will be a bigger challenge again.

“We’ll have a look at what we did, or what we tried to do, last week. We will look forward and try to eradicate the mistakes. Having the familiarity of having the same guys beside you and there for another Test will hopefully help us.

Assessing the positives from the defeat, Ryan found several.

“We turned over the ball five times in New Zealand’s 22 and had eight unforced turnovers too in their half.

“When we did up the intensity we got a good few line breaks. We’ve got to be a lot more clinical at the breakdown.

“It’s about trying to evolve and get smarter every time. Against New Zealand you can’t afford to turn the ball over so easily.”

Earls played at inside centre at the weekend but the versatile Munster back was also providing full-back cover for Rob Kearney.

With him unfit for the the second Test, Ireland have sent for Connacht’s Gavin Duffy.

Team manager Mick Kearney said: “Keith has a tear of one of his pectoral muscles. It showed up during an MRI scan yesterday. He is unavailable for the game at the weekend and his progress will be monitored over the coming days.

“Gavin will arrive in Christchurch on Tuesday and we’ll meet up with him when we arrive on Wednesday.

“He was under consideration and he was on the stand-by list but we felt that Keith has played a fair bit of rugby at full-back so we were adequately covered there.”

Kearney revealed Healy was a major doubt for the next match, though Fitzpatrick seems in better shape.

“Cian [Healy] took a blow to his right shoulder and he has a significant soft tissue injury there,” said Kearney.

“He will be modified training this week with a view to having him right for Saturday. At the moment I would say his chances are 50/50.

“Declan Fitzpatrick has a contusion to his gluteal muscle. The hamstring is okay. He is a concern but the outlook is pretty good for the weekend.”

Auckland's Sky Tower was lit in Irish colours during the Rugby World Cup. Irish rugby fans abound in the city this weekend as Ireland take on the All Blacks in the first Steinlager Series test.

It can only be described as the calm before the storm here in Auckland, with hundreds of Irish rugby fans expected to descend on the city this evening, ahead of Ireland’s first test match against the New Zealand All Blacks tomorrow night.

Irish fans are set to arrive by plane, train and automobile from destinations across New Zealand and neighbouring Australia, in the hopes of cheering the boys in green to victory at Eden Park.

Walking through the heart of the CBD the unmistakable echo of Irish accents resounded, as the first wave of supporters began flocking to the bustling bars of Queen Street.

Given that the All Blacks have not been beaten at the stadium since 1994, the World champions will be tough opponents, but it doesn’t appear to have put a dampener on the spirits of their loyal Irish fans.

Despite the nippy winter weather a few hardy souls hit the town last night, with various renditions of Ireland’s Call and Amhrán na bhFiann to be heard filtering from local bars.

Publicans and authorities reported a relatively quiet night.

Nonetheless they are anticipating that their visiting guests will result in one of the busiest weekends the city has seen since last year’s Rugby World Cup.

In preparation, a large police presence was visible around the city last night.

Many more authorities will patrol the area around Eden Park from early tomorrow afternoon, in order to avoid any unruly behaviour in the lead up to the game.

Meanwhile popular Irish bars including Father Teds, The Muddy Irish and Malones are pulling out all the stops to show their support for captain Brian O’Driscoll and his team, with tricolour flags and green bunting adorning the venues.

Barry Ryan, an Irish accountant living locally here in Auckland, believes that the test games will help lift the spirits of those who feel that they’re missing out on the excitement of the Euro 2012.

“It’s a good way for myself and the other Irish people living and working here to go along to the match and get behind our home country,” he told the Irish Echo.

“We miss out on that side of things when they’re playing at home. We’re also missing out on the Euros. Lots of my friends are heading to Poland for it so in a way having this on our doorstep makes up for that a small bit.

“I was here last year for the [Rugby] World Cup, there was an amazing atmosphere,” he added.

O'Driscoll is hoping Ireland can claim a historic maiden win over the All Blacks.

Captain Brian O’Driscoll is hoping a side containing two debutants can become the first Ireland team to beat New Zealand.

Ireland have yet to taste success against the All Blacks in 24 attempts and will again be second favourites when they line up against the world champions at Eden Park on Saturday.

Coach Declan Kidney today named his team for the match, with uncapped pair Simon Zebo and Declan Fitzpatrick taking their places on the left wing and at tighthead prop respectively.

O’Driscoll, 33, has seen almost everything in his time with the national side but is well aware of the conspicuous gap on his CV.

“At some stage in the future, whether it is this year, next year or in 20 years’ time, an Irish team is going to beat the All Blacks before the world implodes,” he said.

“We just have to make sure to try and make it now rather than waiting for our kids, or our kids’ kids to see it happen.

“I’ve managed to tick a lot of boxes along the way with the Irish side: beating the other southern hemisphere nations, obviously beating Australia (at Eden Park) last year. But this is one that has eluded us – this group of players, and Irish players in general. It speaks volumes for the enormity of the challenge in front of us.

“You are playing the world champions in the first game since they, rightly, won the crown so it is a huge challenge.”

Elsewhere in the starting 15, Keith Earls will partner O’Driscoll in the centre and Fergus McFadden has been named on the right wing.

Dan Tuohy joins Donnacha Ryan in the second row and Peter O’Mahony comes in to the back row alongside Leinster duo Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip. Conor Murray and Eoin Reddan form the half-back axis.

Fitzpatrick’s front-row partners are Rory Best and Cian Healy.

Having named the side, Kidney said: “When you are playing the world champions in their own back yard in their first game after the World Cup, you have to be on the top of your game. There’s no secrets around any of that. But, we believe that if we are then we’re well in with a shout.”

“Simon [Zebo] has been going well and he took his opportunity in the Barbarians match 10 days ago. He has been playing consistently, and well, on the left wing and I see that as an advantage.”

Zebo was overjoyed to receive the call.

“To be playing the All Blacks and to be making my debut as well, it is something that I have dreamed about for a long time,” said the Munster man.

All Blacks head coach Steve Hansen has also named his starting side and he has also added some new faces.

Uncapped scrum-half Aaron Smith partners Dan Carter and there are also bows for lock Brodie Retallick and winger Julian Savea.

Victor Vito has been chosen to replace the injured flanker Jerome Kaino.

Richie McCaw captains a team that features Sonny Bill Williams and Conrad Smith at centre.

“We picked them in the series squad because they have all shown that they have special qualities. They now get the opportunity to show on the international stage,” Hansen said.