Most of the players in doubt because of injuries and two debutants have been included in the 33-man All Blacks squad to take on the British and Irish Lions.
Ngani Laumape celebrates his try. Photo: Photosport
Hooker Dane Coles is there despite not having played since March because of injuries and concussion, however coach Steve Hansen says he's unlikely to play in the first two Tests.
The selectors have named two uncapped players, the Hurricanes midfielder Ngani Laumape and Hurricanes fullback Jordie Barrett, meaning there's now three Barrett brothers in the All Blacks.
Jordie joins his older brothers Scott and Beauden in the squad.
Hansen has included five players as cover.
Malakai Fekitoa, Nehe Milner-Skudder and George Moala have been left out.
Hansen said: "Firstly, on behalf of the All Blacks, the selectors would like to congratulate all players selected for the Lions Series, especially the new All Blacks.
"Obviously, it's a very special occasion for the Barrett and Laumape families, with Jordie and Ngani being selected for the first time. Jordie has been in outstanding form, he has a skillset which is complete and has a great running and kicking game. Ngani too has been impressive throughout the Super season and has forced his way in through commanding performances," Hansen said.
"This has been by far the toughest team that we've had to select for some time and some players who are in very good form missed out, and we always feel for them. But as is the nature of Test rugby I'm sure a number of them will get an opportunity, if not in this Series, then throughout the season."
"We're really appreciative of the opportunity to play Samoa first up. The Samoan game is ideal in preparing us for the challenge that comes with the Lions.
"We see the DHL New Zealand Lions Series as a great opportunity to gauge where we're at from both an individual and a team perspective. As always, we'll look forward to growing our game, as we know that if we don't keep improving, others will go past us.
"We're excited by the uniqueness that comes with playing a Lions Series as it only comes around every 12 years."
Hurricanes fullback Jordie Barrett Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The squad will again be captained by number eight Kieran Read with Ben Smith as Vice-Captain, and the makeup of the squad sees 17 forwards selected (three hookers, five props, four locks and five loose forwards) and 16 backs (three halfbacks, three first five-eighths, three midfielders and six outside backs) and has a total of 1,164 Test caps experience and an average of 35 Test caps per player.
Jordie, Beauden and Scott Barrett are the first sibling trio to be named in the same All Blacks squad and will be just the fourth set of three brothers to play for the All Blacks, following the Brownlie and Nicholls brothers in the 1920s and the Whitelocks in recent years.
The All Blacks squad has a Super Rugby mix of five Blues players, six Chiefs, seven Hurricanes, 10 Crusaders and five Highlanders, while 11 of New Zealand's provincial unions are represented, with seven Canterbury players, four each from Wellington, Auckland and Taranaki, three from Manawatu, two each from Bay of Plenty, Hawke's Bay and Counties Manukau and one each from Southland, Otago and Tasman.
Forwards:
Hookers
Dane Coles (Wellington, 49)
Codie Taylor (Canterbury, 15)
Nathan Harris (Bay of Plenty, 4)
Props
Wyatt Crockett (Canterbury, 58)
Charlie Faumuina (Auckland, 46)
Owen Franks (Canterbury, 90)
Joe Moody (Canterbury, 24)
Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Auckland, 4)
Locks
Scott Barrett (Taranaki, 4)
Brodie Retallick (Hawke's Bay, 60)
Luke Romano (Canterbury, 26)
Samuel Whitelock (Canterbury, 84)
Loose Forwards
Sam Cane (Bay of Plenty, 40)
Jerome Kaino (Auckland, 74)
Kieran Read, captain (Counties Manukau, 97)
Ardie Savea (Wellington, 12)
Liam Squire (Tasman, 8)
Backs:
Halfbacks
Tawera Kerr-Barlow (Waikato, 25)
TJ Perenara (Wellington, 29)
Aaron Smith (Manawatu, 58)
First five-eighths
Beauden Barrett (Taranaki, 49)
Aaron Cruden (Manawatu, 47)
Lima Sopoaga (Southland, 6)
Midfielders
Ryan Crotty (Canterbury, 26)
Ngani Laumape (Manawatu, uncapped)
Anton Lienert-Brown (Waikato, 9)
Sonny Bill Williams (Counties Manukau, 33)
Outside backs
Jordie Barrett (Taranaki, uncapped)
Israel Dagg (Hawke's Bay, 61)
Rieko Ioane (Auckland, 2)
Waisake Naholo (Taranaki, 12)
Julian Savea (Wellington, 52)
Ben Smith (Otago, 60)
