The All Blacks will unleash an "angry" Ardie Savea in the second half of Saturday's third Bledisloe Cup Test against the Wallabies, with a late injury forcing coach Steve Hansen into a minor reshuffle.
Replacement flanker Matt Todd, having tweaked his groin on Thursday at training, has been withdrawn from the clash at Suncorp Stadium.
It paves the way for Savea, 24, to make his third Test appearance of the year.
Usually when a team cops an injury on the eve of a match, it's a setback for them and a boost for the opposition.
But given New Zealand's incredible depth, it has only thrown another spanner in the works for Australia as they look to salvage some pride in the dead-rubber contest.
Hansen said Savea, who was not named in the original squads for the Rugby Championship or the British and Irish Lions tour, would seek to prove a point on Saturday.
"He's had the disappointment of not being named so he's probably a little angry about that," Hansen told reporters on Friday.
"He's a good player and someone we've got a lot of faith in.
"We were looking to give him a bit of a breather but that's not possible now.
"He's got a skill set that can be challenging when he's got ball in hand and and we just want him to be stronger over the ball. He'll look to do that, I think."
Todd's injury will sideline him for two weeks but Hansen has confirmed he will still be involved in New Zealand's end-of-year tour.
