Sonny Bill Williams will start at inside centre when the All Blacks face Samoa in Auckland on Friday.
Williams will partner Anton Lienert-Brown in the midfield in the absence of the injured Ryan Crotty, while Ben Smith will captain the side from fullback, with regular skipper Kieran Read unavailable due to a thumb injury.
Meanwhile, Aaron Smith will start at No 9 in a vastly experienced New Zealand squad containing 871 Test caps, with the All Blacks set to take on the British & Irish Lions in the opening Test next weekend.
'Samoa is about to kick off the qualifying stage of their World Cup campaign, so this will make them even more dangerous,' coach Steven Hansen commented.
'The Samoans are always a challenge and will play with a high level of physicality and skill. At the very minimum, we will need to match that.'