Japan v New Zealand preview

Frank Alai and Dominic Bird will make their All Blacks debut after being named in the starting XV to face Japan in Tokyo.
The Auckland Blues winger and the Crusaders lock are part of an experimental team which see Francis Saili partner Ben Smith in the midfield while Beauden Barrett is at 15 and Charles Piutau on the other wing.
Dan Carter will steer this young side around from fly-half though with Richie McCaw at the base of the scrum at No.8.
On the bench, Hurricanes prop Jeffery Toomaga-Allen and Crusaders back-row Luke Whitelock could also earned their first cap should they be required.
All Blacks Head Coach Steve Hansen said: “We are looking forward to this encounter. It is a great opportunity for our ‘less capped’ players to drive the All Blacks week and preparation, which will then culminate in Saturday’s performance.
“The three selectors have been very mindful of using this game to gather some more information on our younger players but also using it to provide Richie and Dan with some game time.
“We are expecting the Japanese to be very competitive and it will be important that we respect them and engage them in the physical aspects of the game before attempting to play too much ‘razzle dazzle’-type rugby. It’s about earning the right to play. If we don’t do this, we can get caught up in the type of game that suits them.”
New Zealand: Beauden Barrett; Charles Piutau, Ben Smith, Francis Saili, Frank Halai; Daniel Carter, Tawera Kerr-Barlow; Wyatt Crockett , Dane Coles , Ben Franks ; Jeremy Thrush , Dominic Bird; Steven Luatua , Sam Cane , Richie McCaw (Capt.).
Replacements : Andrew Hore, Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, Charlie Faumuina , Brodie Retallick, Luke Whitelock , Aaron Smith, Tom Taylor, Ryan Crotty.
Japan: Ayumu Goromaru; Toshiaki Hirose (Capt.), Male Sau, Craig Wing, Kenki Fukuoka; Harumichi Tatekawa, Fumiaki Tanaka; Masataka Mikami, Shota Horie, Kensuke Hatakeyama; Shoji Ito, Hitoshi Ono; Hendrik Tui, Michael Broadhurst, Ryu Koliniasi Holani.
Replacements: Yusuke Aoki, Yusuke Nagae, Hiroshi Yamashita, Luke Thompson, Takashi Kikutani, Kosei Ono, Yu Tamura, Yoshikazu Fujita.