Smith and Crockett were the only two changes made by coach Steve Hansen in the All Blacks starting side for the game in Sydney from their last test against England.
"It was a tough team to select in many ways because we have a lot of players in good form. But in the end we selected the group that we felt could get the job done," Hansen said in a statement released by New Zealand Rugby on Thursday.
Loose forward Liam Messam needs more time to recover from his gruelling Super Rugby campaign while prop Charlie Faumuina was a late withdrawal due to an illness.
"He (Messam) had another heavy workload during the Super Rugby campaign and we felt that giving him another week off would be the best thing," Hansen said. "He will come back in contention for selection next week."
Ben Smith was rewarded for some excellent form and was given the nod ahead of Israel Dagg at fullback.
"While we have been very happy with Israel Dagg's performances at 15, Ben has come in and raised the bar to another level," Hansen added.
"The challenge for Israel now is to get his performances - when he gets the opportunity - to an even higher level."
Team: 15-Ben Smith, 14-Cory Jane, 13-Conrad Smith, 12-Ma'a Nonu, 11-Julian Savea, 10-Aaron Cruden, 9-Aaron Smith, 8-Kieran Read, 7-Richie McCaw (captain), 6-Jerome Kaino, 5-Samuel Whitelock, 4-Brodie Retallick, 3-Owen Franks, 2-Dane Coles, 1-Wyatt Crockett
Reserves: 16-Keven Mealamu, 17-Ben Franks, 18-Joe Moody, 19-Steven Luatua, 20-Sam Cane, 21-TJ Perenara, 22-Beauden Barrett, 23-Malakai Fekitoa
(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Share
