The All Blacks have made nine changes to their squad to face Argentina on Saturday with one eye on the next World Cup as they looked to clinch the Rugby Championship with a game to spare.
The nine include uncapped Canterbury Crusaders utility David Havili, 22, who is on the bench and appears almost certain to get a run in the second half for the world champions.
Assistant coach Ian Foster said Saturday's Test in Buenos Aires was "a massive opportunity" to expand the All Blacks' options ahead of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
"It is a chance to build real competition and depth in the squad, which is vital for where we want to get to over the next couple of years," Foster said.
The other changes include Luke Romano and Scott Barrett in the second row and Patrick Tuipulotu on the bench, while senior locks Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock are rested.
The imposing Vaea Fifita, who turned the game with a brilliant try when the All Blacks beat Argentina 39-22 in New Zealand three weeks ago, returns to the blindside flank with Matt Todd on the openside for his first Test this year.
The backline changes hand a start for centre Anton Lienert-Brown and right wing Waisake Naholo, while Ngani Laumape provides cover from the bench.
"We've selected what we believe is a quality team and have high expectations that they'll go out and put in a strong performance this weekend," coach Steve Hansen said.
"We are under no illusion about what we'll be facing this weekend.
"After having a torrid tussle against us in New Plymouth, Argentina will be even more determined on their home pitch and in front of their passionate fans. Our job will be to start well and to put in a performance for the full 80 minutes."
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On the championship table, the All Blacks are eight points clear of South Africa who they play in the final round next week.
The All Blacks have faced Argentina 25 times with 24 wins and one draw. They have won the southern hemisphere title in four of the past five years.
Earlier this month in New Plymouth, Argentina led 22-15 early in the second half before the All Blacks, sparked by Fifita's try, scored 24 unanswered points.
Jack Dempsey, Marika Koroibete and Izack Rodda will all make their first starts for Australia in this year's tournament against South Africa on Saturday, with coach Michael Cheika saying the trio had earned their places in the first team.
Flanker Dempsey will replace Ned Hanigan, while Koroibete will pick up his second cap on the wing instead of Henry Speight. Rodda takes over from Rob Simmons among the locks.
Cheika said all three had deserved an opportunity to start after impressing off the bench in the Southern Hemisphere championship.
"I just thought I would give him a crack and give him a go," Cheika said of Rodda's inclusion, while adding Dempsey's selection was a case of "changing it up".
On Koroibete, the coach said: "He did well in the first game and now starting, he will have a chance to prepare himself for the whole week and get ready."
if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Veere di Wedding
Dir: Shashanka Ghosh
Starring: Kareena Kapoo-Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania
Verdict: 4 Stars
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
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%3Cp%3EYe%20%E2%80%94%20the%20rapper%20formerly%20known%20as%20Kanye%20West%20%E2%80%94%20has%20seen%20his%20net%20worth%20fall%20to%20%24400%20million%20in%20recent%20weeks.%20That%E2%80%99s%20a%20precipitous%20drop%20from%20Bloomberg%E2%80%99s%20estimates%20of%20%246.8%20billion%20at%20the%20end%20of%202021.%3Cbr%3EYe%E2%80%99s%20wealth%20plunged%20after%20business%20partners%2C%20including%20Adidas%2C%20severed%20ties%20with%20him%20on%20the%20back%20of%20anti-Semitic%20remarks%20earlier%20this%20year.%3Cbr%3EWest%E2%80%99s%20present%20net%20worth%20derives%20from%20cash%2C%20his%20music%2C%20real%20estate%20and%20a%20stake%20in%20former%20wife%20Kim%20Kardashian%E2%80%99s%20shapewear%20firm%2C%20Skims.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
