Tuipulotu to captain All Blacks in tour opener against Stormers

CAPE TOWN, Aug 5 : Patrick Tuipulotu will captain New Zealand in the opening match of their South African tour when they take on the Stormers at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday.

• Coach Dave Rennie on Wednesday named some experienced players in the side, including Beauden Barrett at flyhalf and Rieko Ioane on the wing.

• Barrett did not play the three Nations Championship tests in New Zealand last month while blindside flanker Simon Parker and reserve halfback Kyle Preston also missed the wins over France, Italy, and Ireland.

• Regular captain Ardie Savea is still on holiday ahead of his belated arrival for the eight-match tour, while acting tour skipper Codie Taylor is nursing a sore calf, which means Tuipulotu captains the side for a second time.

• There are 13 changes to the team that started against Ireland in the Nations Championship in Auckland last month.

• Only Josh Moorby, who has switched from the left wing to fullback, and Tuipulotu remain from the 40-21 win over the Irish.

• Tighthead prop Siale Lauaki and fullback Josh Jacomb are set to make their All Blacks debuts off the bench.

Team: 15-Josh Moorby, 14-Leroy Carter, 13-Billy Proctor, 12-Anton Lienert-Brown, 11-Rieko Ioane, 10-Beauden Barrett, 9-Cortez Ratima, 8-Wallace Sititi, 7-Peter Lakai, 6-Simon Parker, 5-Patrick Tuipulotu (captain), 4-Fabian Holland, 3-Pasilio Tosi, 2-Samisoni Taukei'aho, 1-George Bower

Replacements: 16-Asafo Aumua, 17-Ollie Norris, 18-Siale Lauaki, 19-Sam Darry, 20-Ethan Blackadder, 21-Kyle Preston, 22-Josh Jacomb, 23-Caleb Clarke.

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Christian Radnedge)