Whitelock draws level with McCaw - New Zealand name team to play Namibia

Second-row Sam Whitelock will draw level with Richie McCaw as the most capped All Black when he wins his 148th cap and Damian McKenzie starts his first Rugby World Cup test at fly-half as New Zealand head coach Ian Foster names his 23 to face Namibia in Stadium de Toulouse on Friday, 15 September.

1 Ofa Tuungafasi 
2 Samisoni Taukei'aho 
3 Nepo Laulala 
4 Brodie Retallick 
5 Samuel Whitelock 
6 Luke Jacobson 
7 Dalton Papali'i 
8 Ardie Savea © 
9 Cam Roigard 
10 Damian McKenzie 
11 Leicester Fainga'anuku 
12 David Havili 
13 Anton Lienert-Brown 
14 Caleb Clarke 
15 Beauden Barrett 

Replacements:
16 Dane Coles 
17 Ethan de Groot 
18 Fletcher Newell
19 Scott Barrett 
20 Tupou Vaa'i
21 Aaron Smith 
22 Richie Mo'unga 
23 Rieko Ioane 

• There are nine changes to the starting line-up from New Zealand's opening loss to France with Nepo Laulala, Sam Whitelock, Dalton Papali’i, Ardie Savea, Beauden Barrett and Anton Lienert-Brown retaining their places.
• Sam Whitelock will equal Richie McCaw as the most capped All Black in test history in his 148th match. He trails only Alun Wyn Jones (171) as the most capped player in word rugby. In his 21st Rugby World Cup test, only England’s Jason Leonard and New Zealand’s Richie McCaw, who share the all-time appearance record with 22, are ahead of him.
• Damian McKenzie will make his Rugby World Cup debut in his 43rd test for the All Blacks. He was ruled out of RWC 2019 after suffering an injury to his Achilles in Super Rugby that year.
• Cam Roigard is one of three players in the match-day team making their Rugby World Cup debut, alongside Caleb Clarke and McKenzie.
• Ardie Savea is the only All Black to have started all six tests this season, playing every minute of 2023 so far. He did not miss a tackle against France, completing 100% of his attempts, while hitting a team-high 15 defensive rucks.
• In his 19th test, Caleb Clarke requires one more try to equal his father Eroni’s test record for the All Blacks. Eroni scored six tries across 10 tests for New Zealand between 1992 and 1998, but never played at a Rugby World Cup.