All Blacks coach Steve Hansen has fired back at criticism from UK media for his selection of an inexperienced side to play against Japan in Tokyo tomorrow.
Hansen has named eight debutants with two rookies named to start - Auckland's Dalton Papali'i and Wellington's midfielder Matt Proctor.
The All Blacks head coach said he had to field a number of new players against Japan, due to the hectic rugby schedule his players have had this year.
"We play so many Test matches and so many Super [Rugby] games that it's nonsense when you hear people saying they didn't give Test caps away like this years ago," Hansen told Stuff.
"Well, they only played four or five test matches and six or seven provincial games [in the past]. Today, we're playing 14 or 15 Test matches alone [annually] and you just can't ask the same people to do it all the time and play to the level we're asking them to play at."
Tyrel Lomax, Dillon Hunt, Gareth Evans, Mitchell Drummond, Brett Cameron and George Bridge are the other new players set to make their debuts coming off the bench for New Zealand.
Hansen and his selectors were criticised by the UK media for handing out "confetti caps" .
But the All Blacks coach said last year his side tried out a squad rotation against the Pumas and Springboks, during their Rugby Championship campaign.
"Over the last few years, we've looked at ways of trying to skin the cat. Last year, we split the squad to Argentina and South Africa," said Hansen.
"This year, the opportunity to play the Bledisloe [Test against Australia] up here [in Japan] was too good to turn down because of the opportunity to experiment and get a feel for Japan."
Hansen said bringing in the new players into the All Blacks environment is a huge plus for the current defending Rugby World Cup champions.
"We chose to bring in some extra players. It cost us nothing because the game is extra. We're winning everywhere when you think about it.
"We're giving some guys some really valuable experiences and we'll get to see whether they can cope.
"That puts them under a bit of pressure, and seeing them under that pressure allows you to make sound judgements in selections."
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