‘All Blacks’ Maori All Blacks team named to face Lions

The Maori All Blacks will give the British and Irish Lions their biggest test yet on Saturday having named nine Test internationals in their starting XV.
The backline includes Nehe Milner-Skudder, Damian McKenzie and Reiko Ioane along with centre Charlie Ngatai and scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow.
Veteran loose forward Liam Messam (43 Tests) adds strength to the pack along with flanker Elliott Dixon and prop Kane Hames, with hooker Hika Elliott on the bench.
“We’ve named a strong group who all have good clarity on how we want to play this match against the Lions,” coach Colin Cooper said.
Maori All Blacks: James Lowe; Nehe Milner-Skudder, Matt Proctor, Charlie Ngatai, Rieko Ioane; Damian McKenzie, Tawera Kerr-Barlow; Kane Hames, Ash Dixon (c), Ben May; Joe Wheeler, Tom Franklin; Akira Ioane, Elliot Dixon, Liam Messam
Replacements: Hika Elliot, Chris Eves, Marcel Renata, Leighton Price, Kara Pryor, Bryn Hall, Ihaia West, Rob Thompson