Crusaders prop Greg Somerville, rested for last weekend's 21-11 win over Ireland, returns at tight-head in place of the injured John Afoa.

There is one alteration on the bench, with explosive loose-forward Sione Lauaki coming in for Adam Thomson.

Otherwise, Henry has stuck with a settled side as the All Blacks look to continue their rebuilding programme following the World Cup disappointment in October.

Henry said: "This is our best side right now and we should benefit from another week of training together.

"It'll take a bit of time to establish this team and we need to take another couple of steps forward this weekend.

"We'll have to be a bit sharper if we are to defeat England. They have some very experienced internationals, plus some new players coming through who might not be well known in New Zealand but will be a real challenge on Saturday."

New Zealand lost a number of big-name players to the northern hemisphere after their World Cup quarter-final defeat to France in Cardiff.

But they are still able to call on established stars like captain Richie McCaw, who signed a new four-year contract with the NZRU on Monday, fly-half Dan Carter and winger Sitiveni Sivivatu.