Dan Carter, back to his customary role of five-eighth, will also have the kicking duties for the Crusaders in their Super Rugby match against the Blues in Christchurch on Saturday night.
Carter will return to the No.10 jersey after playing outside ace goal-kicker Tom Taylor for the last five weeks, with Taylor’s minor quadriceps strain ruling him out of selection.
Crusaders backs coach Daryl Gibson said after training on Thursday that Carter would take the shots at goal, even though fullback Israel Dagg is accomplished in that role.
“Dan’s been kicking well for the last week or so,” Gibson said.
“I imagine it’s a mental hurdle for him now going into this game and, while his range might be a little bit down, certainly the ones he was nailing today were from about 45 metres.”
Carter, whose participation in last year’s World Cup ended prematurely when he suffered a groin injury during kicking practice, has been easing himself into goal-kicking at training.
Another key Crusader, captain Richie McCaw, will also have a switch of position.
McCaw will vacate his usual No. 7 jersey to play No. 8 in place of his injured fellow All Black Kieran Read.
There are five personnel changes to the team that started in the shock loss to the Rebels in Melbourne last Saturday.
Four of those are in the backs, with Dagg, Andy Ellis, Ryan Crotty and Adam Whitelock coming in.
In the forwards, openside flanker Matt Todd returns after a week off to replace Luke Whitelock, who is recovering from a head knock.
The Crusaders have scored just one try – to lock Sam Whitelock – in their past two matches and Gibson said much of the talk this week had been about keeping the ball in hand to be able to exert pressure.