Once upon a time, Sonny Bill Williams was the man to bring some x-factor to the All Blacks.
Now he's the stable hand between two of New Zealand's brightest young backline talents for the third Test against France.
Williams, 32, returns from injury on Saturday for his first Test appearance of the year in Dunedin.
However, more eyes will be on the starting debuts of boom outside centre Jack Goodhue and livewire Damian McKenzie at five-eighth.
Four of six run-on changes from the unimpressive 26-13 second Test win in Wellington come among the backs.
Coach Steve Hansen is excited by the combination of 46-Test cross-code star Williams and the highly touted Goodhue.
"Both big men; both fast men; both good at distributing. Jack Goodhue's probably as good as you'll get at putting someone into space," Hansen said.
"He's got a lot of self-belief and it's justified. It's not a cockiness - it's just an inner belief in who he is."
McKenzie gets a chance to improve on last week's erratic 68-minute showing off the bench after the injury to world player of the year Beauden Barrett.
A brilliant attacking fullback, the diminutive McKenzie has been earmarked as a potentially outstanding playmaker closer in.
The 23-year-old admits he will need to curb his natural running instincts.
"Leading the team around the park, playing at the right end of the field and running when it's on," was how McKenzie this week described his revamped approach.
The man who Hansen has referred to as "like a fly inside a bottle" will relish what is expected to be a high-octane encounter at the Forsyth Barr Stadium indoor venue.
Hansen believes that's why France have overhauled their midfield, most notably dropping powerful captain Mathieu Bastareaud and introducing the more-athletic inside centre Wesley Fofana.
Playing his first Test for 18 months after shaking off injuries, Fofana runs head-first into opposite Williams, who has developed into one of rugby's premier defenders.
