Perenara and Barrett reunite for one last ride in Wellington

Two long-time performers on Wellington's SKY Stadium, halfback TJ Perenara and first five-eighths Beauden Barrett, are paired for the final time in an All Blacks Test in New Zealand in the Lipovitan D Rugby Championship Test against Australia on Saturday.

Both players emerged from the Hurricanes side based in Wellington to start their Test careers, Barrett in 2012 and Perenara in 2014, and were only split up when Barrett moved to Auckland in 2020.

Perenara will play in Japan at the end of the season, while Barrett will remain in New Zealand.

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said Barrett starting at first five-eighths was something that had been planned for during the season. He has shown good form, and the selectors wanted to give players opportunities while building depth. It was also a chance to renew his combination with halfback TJ Perenara.

"They've got a great combination. They've played a lot of games together, so it lines up nicely."

Damian McKenzie is on the bench for the game.

"He's had a great season to date. There're areas of his game he can get better and can come on and be D Mac. He can play, he's created a lot for us, he's one of the highest line-breakers in the competition. He can wave a wand and take a gap and also come on and game manage so we can do what we need to do to finish the match."

Rieko Ioane's retention at centre was down to him playing well.

"He's distributing, he's carried, he's made some good decisions. He's been a good leader for us. He's grown his game, and he responded once we asked him, and his performances have matched what we've asked.

Robertson acknowledged flanker and former captain Sam Cane's final Test in New Zealand.

He was a player it took time to get to know. People had opinions about him from afar, but once meeting him and seeing what he is around the team environment, he would say things others wouldn't.

"He's a bit of a sheriff. He's got it in the holster, and he'll fire and say, 'No, this is how it is. I'm going to call you out, or this is the All Black standard.' And his ability to do it week after week in a tough position. He's broken his neck, he's bounced back, he's consistent on the field.

"But the leadership part for me is something I really respect. He's been great for us in our environment, and he's performed, and it's great that we can give him 100 off the back of playing well and what he's done over his career.

"He knows his way around the field. He's got a good GPS on him, he turns up in the right positions. He anticipates the game well, but he reads it, and that's what we need around that leadership."

They were looking for a statement performance in Wellington, their last home Test for the year, and also to deal with the winless streak since 2018.

"It's something we've addressed, something we are aware of. It's a record we're not proud of and the way you deal with records is by performances. Our main focus this week is a good performance and something the crowd, and New Zealanders, can be proud of."

Issues with the last quarter of games are again on the agenda. They have worked on a plan and have focused on solutions, trained with that in mind so they can execute come game time.

There was a link between yellow cards and the lack of last-quarter scoring.

"When you get a yellow card you're going to give six points away on average...It's something a little bit individual and also as a group and we've got to be better than that and that's what we're focused on."

Robertson said it hurt that this year's side has not continued the successful legacy of the All Blacks. They had all learned they could improve in different areas, but they had also focused on what they were doing well.

They have made the most linebreaks of any team and are focused on the areas they need to get better and finish teams.

"We had opportunities to win every game, and we haven't. There are some key parts of growing players that have come through. We've got a lot of fresh faces – seven or eight debutants.

"There's a bit of a story to the whole point of it. We'd love to have the Rugby Championship and the Bledisloe."