Ruben Love gets the nod at fly-half to face France this weekend, flanked by his Hurricanes teammates. Photo: AFP
Ruben Love was given the nod on Thursday to start at flyhalf against France as new All Blacks coach Dave Rennie named his first New Zealand side for the Nations Championship opener in Christchurch.
The 25-year-old has played only five previous Tests for the All Blacks but will start in the pivotal No 10 shirt against the French on Saturday after a stellar Super Rugby season in which he led the Wellington Hurricanes to the championship.
Former New Zealand scrum-half Brad Weber believes new head coach Dave Rennie are able to return the All Blacks to the peak of the sport before they begin their tenure against France on Saturday. Rennie took over from Scott Robertson in March after seven defeats in Robertson's two years in charge.
The 62-year-old has arrived a little over a year out from the World Cup having had successful spells with Glasgow, the Kobe Steelers and the Chiefs, where he worked with Weber for two years.
