Ardie Savea will captain New Zealand against France in the opening game of Rugby World Cup 2023 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Friday after Sam Cane withdrew with an injury. Dalton Papali'i moves to openside flanker with Tupou Vaai'i starting at blindside. Brodie Retallick comes onto the bench.
1 Ethan de Groot
2 Codie Taylor
3 Nepo Laulala
4 Samuel Whitelock
5 Scott Barrett
6 Tupou Vaa'i
7 Dalton Papali'i
8 Ardie Savea (c)
9 Aaron Smith
10 Richie Mo'unga
11 Mark Telea
12 Anton Lienert-Brown
13 Rieko Ioane
14 Will Jordan
15 Beauden Barrett
Replacements:
16 Samisoni Taukei'aho
17 Ofa Tu'ungafasi
18 Fletcher Newell
19 Brodie Retallick
20 Luke Jacobson
21 Finlay Christie
22 David Havili
23 Leicester Fainga'anuku
• Head coach Ian Foster has named 12 survivors in his match-day 23 from the last time they played France in 2021.
• Sam Whitelock will play his 20th Rugby World Cup test, he trails only England’s Jason Leonard and New Zealand’s Richie McCaw who share the all-time appearance record with 22 matches.
• Richie Mo’unga will earn his 50th cap for New Zealand after making his debut off the bench against France in Dunedin in 2018.
• Nepo Laulala will earn his 50th cap for New Zealand after making his debut against Samoa in 2015. This will be his second start of 2023 after playing three of his four games off the bench.
• New Zealand have already had 16 different try-scorers this season across five tests played, with only Will Jordan, Aaron Smith, Rieko Ioane and Shannon Frizell crossing on more than one occasion.
• Jordan has scored 23 tries in 25 tests since making his All Blacks debut in 2020. He is still chasing his first career try against France after playing 51 minutes in Paris in 2021 without scoring.
