Barrett at fly-half as All Blacks bench McKenzie for Wallabies

New Zealand veteran Beauden Barrett was recalled Thursday to start at fly-half in the second Bledisloe Cup Test against Australia in Wellington.

Damian McKenzie, who has started all eight games in the number 10 shirt for New Zealand this season, drops to the bench for Saturday’s clash.

Barrett, 33, will make his 131st appearance for the All Blacks, who retained the Bledisloe Cup with a nail-biting 31-28 win over Australia in Sydney last Saturday.

Coach Scott Robertson told reporters he had always planned to start with Barrett: “(McKenzie) has started every game until now and we’ve got to give guys opportunities.” Robertson backed McKenzie to have an impact off the bench.

“He’s had a great season to date. There’s areas of his game he can get better, but he can come on and game-manage what we need to do to finish the match.”

Robertson has deployed two-time world player of the year Barrett in a variety of backline roles, preferring him as a fullback or off the bench as a utility.

Barrett missed last Saturday’s match with illness but returns to partner scrum-half TJ Perenara, who has replaced Cortez Ratima in the starting 15.