RUGBY:CALL IT what you will - rotation, genuine competition for places, a squad ethos or tactical variation - but if nothing else Declan Kidney is putting his stamp on Team Ireland. Not many could have envisaged six changes for Saturday's rendezvous with the All Blacks, but clearly much of this was part of the advance planning.

While recalls for warhorses such as John Hayes, Rory Best, David Wallace and Girvan Dempsey were to be expected to varying extents, there were also a couple of curve balls in a first Test start for Tomás O'Leary at scrumhalf and to a lesser degree a recall for Alan Quinlan.

"There were several changes which weren't easy because all the boys did very well last week," said Kidney. "One of the goals we set out to achieve was to develop a panel. That allows you to draw on different skill sets going into a game and I think this gives us the best chance going forward on Saturday."

There will be a mixed reaction to this package, with Best over Jerry Flannery and Dempsey over the other fullback options perhaps deemed conservative selections, not to mention the possibility of going in with an additional groundhog in Shane Jennings.

For the redoubtable Quinlan, this marks only his third start since dislocating his collarbone when scoring that match-winning try against Argentina in the 2003 World Cup, and the others were on summer tours in Japan and Argentina. So to live with the pace of playing the All Blacks at 33 is quite an ask. But one senses he's also there to help target the New Zealand lineout.

After just two minutes on the wing in the first Test in Sante Fe last year, O'Leary makes his first start in Croke Park. A son of hurling great Seanie O'Leary, who won four All-Irelands at the venue, the 25-year-old only turned his full attention to rugby after winning an All-Ireland minor medal himself with Cork. That said, he was part of the Ireland team that reached the 2004 Under-21 World Championship final.

For all his willingness to make changes, Kidney is acutely reluctant to shed any light on his decisions. "I wouldn't come out with the plusses of one guy and the negatives of another. We've asked players to go for it and we've done it in the selections."

So it was with the call at scrumhalf, where Kidney cited the beneficial work O'Leary has done with coaches such as David O'Mahony, Greg Oliver, Alan Gaffney and Tony McGahan. However, a later reference to the need for a huge defensive performance probably gives an indication as to one key factor in O'Leary's promotion and though the impression might be he's played little rugby this season, O'Leary has in fact started six games. He was also outstanding in the win away to Sale, as was Quinlan, and Kidney cited "experience" as critical factors in the selection of Quinlan, Wallace and Dempsey.

O'Leary is one of five from the starting team who was not part of Ireland's 30-man World Cup squad scarcely a year ago, along with three of the replacements - Tony Buckley, Jennings and Keith Earls.

Stephen Ferris is covering the back five of the pack, as well as Quinlan, in what is something of a gamble, but as Kidney explained: "There will be an awful lot of collisions and a lot of defence. The backrow usually has the highest tackle count so it might be handy to have a bit of fresh legs there for what could be a very physical game."

It is clear the bench is there to be used and Ferris, especially, should have a role to play. That won't be the only reason therefore that all the 22 will have been relieved to make the cut for a once-in-a-lifetime game, especially as there is no place for the likes of Geordan Murphy, Shane Horgan, Peter Stringer and Malcolm O'Kelly.

"I had a rough night last night telling people that they weren't playing in a game everyone wants to be involved in," admitted Kidney, although one senses no one has been cast adrift just yet.

Dempsey was probably earmarked for this game all along. Given the game's increased propensity for aerial ping pong, the importance of his radar-like positional play and defensive security might become even more apparent given the foreboding forecast.

Pitching Earls in from the start to deal with Dan Carter's kicking game in such conditions would have been a huge ask of the gifted 20-year-old, but his potential to affect Saturday's game with his footwork and eye for space can still be employed.

Putting this "absolutely massive game" into context, Kidney was of the view that the Northern Hemisphere's autumnal window was actually a more difficult time to play them.

"They seem to come in with a freshness and vigour. They have the objective of having a Grand Slam tour, and we're the ones in their way this week. We are going to try to do something that has never been done before. I am under no illusions, this is as difficult a test as you can have."

Kidney won't be in a position to decide which players will be available for Munster's match against the All Blacks next Tuesday but with eight in the starting line-up and 11 in the squad, Tony McGahan's pickings will be meagre, all the more so as Ireland still have to beat New Zealand or Argentina to ensure a top-eight ranking for the World Cup draw.

The IRFU will hold a minute's silence before Saturday's game in Croke Park as a mark of respect for the recent tragic death of Garryowen FC club member Shane Geoghegan.