Carter and McCaw Back for All Blacks

New Zealand will field three new faces in Saturday's first Test against Ireland at Eden Park.

Winger Julian Savea, scrum-half Aaron Smith and lock Brodie Retallick have all been handed their Test debuts by coach Steve Hansen in the series opener in Auckland.

The team will be led by World Cup skipper Richie McCaw while Dan Carter is named at fly-half, meaning he will become the most-capped No.10 for the All Blacks when he pulls on the shirt for the 71st time.

Sonny Bill Williams and Conrad Smith are paired in midfield with Savea featuring in the back three alongside Isreal Dagg and Zac Guildford.

"We picked them (the new caps) because they have all shown that they have special qualities which they now get the opportunity to show on the international stage," Hansen said.

"The build-up so far this week has been good. With such a short preparation time, we have focused on keeping things simple and bringing the team together.

"We have been concentrating on making sure we have clarity early in the week, increasing intensity and accuracy as the week goes on, which should allow us to put in a performance that we can be proud of on Saturday."

A crowd of more than 40,000 is expected for the first of three Tests against Ireland, with the teams moving on to Christchurch on June 16 and then concluding in Hamilton seven days later.

New Zealand team to face Ireland in first Test:

I Dagg; Z Guildford, C Smith, S B Williams, J Savea; D Carter, A Smith; T Woodcock, A Hore, O Franks, B Retallick, S Whitelock, V Vito, R McCaw (capt), K Read.

Replacements: H Elliott, B Franks, A Williams, A Thomson, P Weepu, A Cruden, B Smith.