Thousands of people are expected to pack out Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium tonight for the All Blacks first test of the year against England.
Kiwi and English fans alike will be keen to see how the team performs under new coach Scott 'Razor' Robertson.
A major talking point about Razor's first All Black's team is the naming of Stephen Perofeta at fullback, meaning 123-test player Beauden Barrett will be on the bench.
Robertson said he took the placing "like a true pro".
"Whatever is required for this team, he’s covering a couple of positions and can slot in at any time. He was great."
The match will be a huge boost for Dunedin's economy, with accommodation booked out, extra flights put on, and the hospitality sector set to be working well into the night.
Some of the All Blacks stopped in to visit a Dunedin rippa rugby team this morning.
All Blacks prop Pasilio Tosi told 1News it was good to see the kids running around having fun.
"It's freezing out here but they don't know that, they're out having fun, you know."
It will also be the All Blacks' first match since November's narrow loss to the Springboks in the final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in Paris.
Vice captain Ardie Savea told 1News the pain of the 12-11 defeat "always lingers".
"For the majority of us that played at the World Cup, it still lingers within us. Everyone deals with it differently but some of us hold on to that and use it as motivation and not let it happen again or experience that feeling."
It's unknown if new coach Scott Robertson can get off to a winning start against England.
All Blacks
1. Ethan de Groot 2. Codie Taylor 3. Tyrel Lomax 4. Scott Barrett (captain) 5, Patrick Tuipulotu, 6. Samipeni Finau, 7. Dalton Papali'i, 8. Ardie Savea (vice-captain), 9. TJ Perenara, 10. Damian McKenzie, 11. Mark Tele'a 12. Jordie Barrett 13. Rieko Ioane 14. Sevu Reece 15. Stephen Perofeta
Bench: 16. Asafo Aumua 17. Ofa Tu'ungafasi 18. Fletcher Newell 19. Tupou Vaa'i 20. Luke Jacobson 21. Finlay Christie 22. Anton Lienert-Brown 23. Beauden Barrett
England
1. Joe Marler (vice-captain), 2. Jamie George (captain), 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje (vice-captain), 5. George Martin, 6. Chandler Cunningham-South, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Ben Earl (vice-captain), 9. Alex Mitchell, 10. Marcus Smith, 11. Tommy Freeman, 12. Ollie Lawrence, 13. Henry Slade (vice-captain), 14. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 15. George Furbank
Bench: 16. Theo Dan, 17. Fin Baxter, 18. Dan Cole, 19. Alex Coles, 20. Tom Curry, 21. Ben Spencer, 22. Fin Smith, 23. Ollie Sleightholme
Follow 1News for live updates of all the action from Dunedin from 6.30pm.
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