The All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says now is the time to see if Rene Ranger can continue his form when starting a test.
Ranger replaces Julian Savea on the left wing for Saturday night's third Test against France in New Plymouth, in one of five changes with Victor Vito, Andrew Hore, Piri Weepu and Dan Carter also all starting.
Hansen says they had to balance the respect they have for the French and the need to give some other players more game time and Ranger is one of those.
Hansen says Ranger's played particularly well off the bench but they have to see if he can do it for 80 minutes.
The coach says while they had thought of playing Ben Smith at centre with Conrad Smith's pending sabbatical in mind, he's playing well on the wing, while Savea's not being singled out, as he had one of his better tests in Christchurch.
