Beauden Barrett named All Blacks captain for first time as Rennie makes eight changes

Beauden Barrett has been named to captain New Zealand for the first time, with head coach Dave Rennie announcing eight changes to his starting team for the Nations Championship match against Wales. According to BBC Sport, the 35-year-old full-back will take on the starting captaincy in his 149th international, at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday, 14 November.

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The appointment gives Barrett a new responsibility in a Test career that includes a place in New Zealand's 2015 World Cup-winning squad. Rennie highlighted his experience and the respect he commands within the group when explaining the decision. Barrett's brother Scott has also been selected, at lock, while Richie Mo'unga comes into the team at fly-half.

The reshuffle follows New Zealand's 43-21 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield last Saturday. Across the full match-day squad of 23, Rennie has made 10 changes. Two players injured in that win are absent from the Wales selection: wing Will Jordan, who sustained a hamstring injury, and centre Jordie Barrett, whose injury was described as facial in the BBC report.

Flanker Anton Segner and wing Fehi Fineanganofo have both been selected for their first Test starts. Segner moves up from the replacements, as do prop George Bower, hooker Asafo Aumua and scrum-half Cortez Ratima. Alongside Mo'unga and Fineanganofo, lock Josh Lord and centre Anton Lienert-Brown complete the eight additions to the starting line-up announced by Rennie.

Despite the scale of the changes, Rennie said the selected squad has a combined 783 caps. He described competition for selection and the depth developed within the group as features of the team. The replacements named for Cardiff include Blackadder, Fainga'anuku and Ioane, with the starting back row comprising Segner, Lakai and Sititi.

New Zealand and South Africa are both unbeaten in the competition's southern hemisphere table, with first place still being contested before the play-off weekend at the end of November. The All Blacks also hold a run of 34 successive Test wins over Wales dating back to 1953. Rennie nevertheless acknowledged the challenge posed by Steve Tandy's side and the Cardiff crowd.