Munster's Craig Casey has been named captain of Ireland A for Friday night's meeting with an All Blacks XV at the RDS.
The scrum-half will lead out an Irish selection containing seven uncapped players, including Ciáran Frawley who is named at out-half.
Casey's selection would also indicate that Jamison Gibson-Park has been cleared to play in Saturday's Test against South Africa, while the inclusion of Mike Lowry at full-back also suggests Hugo Keenan is set to start against the Springboks.
The five-cap international was the stand-out candidate to lead the team, according to head coach Andy Farrell.
"He's an obvious choice for us," Farrell said. "We broached the subject straight away and it was unanimous it would be Craig. Why? Because it's him being himself, he's a natural leader, just the way he handles himself on a daily basis in and around everyone.
"He's the ultimate professional, he prepares really well, and he's been in this environment for some time now so the responsibility is a nice step in his journey as well."
And the 23-year-old says while he has plenty of captaincy experience down the years, this will be a huge step up.
"It's a massive honour, for me, my family, for everyone who has helped me to this point, I think it's a huge honour for them as well," said Casey.
"I was absolutely delighted. It's a huge thing to be part of, to be asked to lead a side.
"All my teams growing up in Ardscoil Rís I was captain, and with Ireland U18s I had a bit of captaincy. I'm well used to captaining teams but this is to a next level, and controlling the week with lads who are part of the leadership group has been enjoyable."
Jacob Stockdale is the most experienced international in the A side, with the Ulster wing making a welcome return to an Ireland squad after injury limited him to just one game for this province last season.
Farrell says he's been impressed with how Stockdale has responded this season.
"We all know Jacob has been out injured for quite some time, and there are a few lads that staked a place pretty well over the last 12 months but Jacob coming back at the start of the season has shown a lot of hunger in my eyes.
"I know he's not played for a couple of weeks, but his hunger at the start of the season, how he attacked the season shows me the fight and the want to get his spot back, so he gets the opportunity to show us how he's going to push forward with the rest of the season."
Joining Stockdale (above) and Lowry in the back three is Leinster's Jimmy O'Brien, while James Hume and Jamie Osborne complete the backline, pairing up in the centre.
The front row sees Dave Heffernan and Tom O'Toole join Munster's in-form loosehead Jeremy Loughman, while uncapped pair Gavin Thornbury and Joe McCarthy form the second row partnership.
Gavin Coombes starts at number 8, with Cian Prendergast and Nick Timoney joining him in the back row as expected.
Among those on the replacements bench are the uncapped Diarmuid Barron, Ross Molony, Jack Crowley and Calvin Nash, while Marty Moore makes his return to an Irish shirt for the first time since 2015.
"With Marty, I think he's been ever-present and consistently very good for Ulster," Farrell added.
"I think he's been the cornerstone of the Ulster pack for the last few years, actually. Fast-forward all the way to his last game against Munster, and he's earned the right to deserve his chance, to show his worth to his peers within the squad."
With competition for places in the senior team growing as the season progresses, Friday's hit-out against the touring New Zealand side is a big opportunity for those involved to put their hand up for a potential Test spot, particularly against Fiji next week.
But Farrell has warned his players that he expects them to play for the team, rather than themselves.
"It's a must if you want to play for us, what's what we challenge ourselves to be more than anything really; team-first players. I think that's a point of difference for us as a team.
"It's something we have tried to develop over the last few years. When we're all on point together we are a decent side.
"When we start playing on our own, we become a little bit desperate, we become a little bit average so those guys taking the field on Friday night will be helping the team to be as good as they possibly can be."
Ireland A: Mike Lowry; Jimmy O'Brien, Jamie Osborne, James Hume, Jacob Stockdale; Ciáran Frawley, Craig Casey (capt); Jeremy Loughman, Dave Heffernen, Tom O'Toole; Joe McCarthy, Gavin Thornbury; Cian Prendergast, Nick Timoney, Gavin Coombes.
Replacements: Diarmuid Barron, Dave Kilcoyne, Marty Moore, Ross Molony, Max Deegan, Caolin Blade, Jack Crowley, Calvin Nash.
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