All Blacks captain Richie McCaw will face the toughest of tests when he makes his return to international rugby in the Tri-Nations opener against Australia at Eden Park on Saturday.
McCaw, who sustained two knee injuries in the Super 14, will face three Wallaby openside flankers on Saturday after George Smith was named to start his 100th test with Phil Waugh and David Pocock expected to come off the bench in the second half.
Widely regarded as the best openside flanker in the world, McCaw has not played a test since last November and only returned to the field last week when he turned out for his Christchurch club and said afterwards he had been 'blowing' during the game.
New Zealand have not selected a specialist openside on the replacements' bench, meaning McCaw, who missed the June tests against France and Italy, will have to play the full 80 minutes in an effort to negate Australia's influence at the breakdown.
The New Zealand coaching staff, however, said that workload should not be a problem for the 28-year-old.
'We expect him to play the 80 (minutes),' All Blacks' forward coach Steve Hansen told reporters in Auckland on Wednesday. 'He's done it before, he's our leader and we want him on the park.
'He's trained well, he's confident he can go 80 and I'm confident he's got the mental aptitude to do that as well.'
