BRISBANE
All Blacks coach Ian Foster has made wholesale changes to his starting line-up to face “wounded beast” Argentina in Brisbane on Saturday, including a rare start at fly-half for Damian McKenzie.
Only three of the starting side that thrashed Los Pumas 39-0 on Sunday will begin the Rugby Championship fourth-round clash as Foster juggles an intense schedule.
Argentina coach Mario Ledesma also swung the axe, making six changes to his run-on team, with dangerous fly-half Nicolas Sanchez among those dropped.
“With five Tests in a row and a six-day turnaround between these two Argentinian Tests, we were always going to make some selection changes -- five Tests in a row demanded that,” said Foster.
“But the good thing is that we have a group that has been focusing on the same opposition for the last two weeks, so our preparation time hasn’t been compromised.”
Normally preferred at fullback, McKenzie has started only one of his previous 34 Tests at fly-half.
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