A quartet of All Blacks stars were named on Monday as part of an Australia-New Zealand XV to face the British & Irish Lions.
David Havili and Shannon Frizell were joined by Shaun Stevenson and Folau Fakatava as the first wave of signings for the combined team that will take on Andy Farrell’s charges in Adelaide on 12 July.
The combined side will be coached by Les Kiss, who will succeed Joe Schmidt as Wallabies coach next year, alongside former All Blacks mentor Ian Foster.
Kiss also coaches Super Rugby’s Reds, who face the Lions on Wednesday in Brisbane.
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“We are delighted with the quality of the New Zealand contingent announced today and look forward to naming more players as the squad comes together,” said Rugby Australia’s high performance director Peter Horne.
“We want this team to entertain the big Adelaide crowd and provide the Lions with a tough contest as they head into their three-Test series with the Wallabies.”
Inside centre Havili has appeared 30 times for New Zealand, scoring nine tries, and is fresh from captaining the Crusaders to the Super Rugby title.
Flanker Frizell has scored eight tries in his 33 Tests, while fullback Stevenson has been capped once and scrumhalf Fakatava twice.
The rest of the Australia-New Zealand squad is still to be announced for the match, which will be the final Lions outing before the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane on 19 July.
The Lions will also play Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 28 July and in Sydney on 2 August.
© Agence France-Presse
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