All Black winger Jonah Lomu will be on the sidelines for New Zealand's match against Italy in Hamilton on Saturday.

Lomu's spot on the left-wing went to Canterbury Crusaders' Caleb Ralph while Auckland's Doug Howlett is on the other flank.

Ralph last featured in the New Zealand Test side in 1998 against England in Auckland.

Three Otago players, lock Simon Maling, hooker Tom Willis and prop Joe McDonnell make their Test debuts.

Willis and inside centre Daryl Gibson have been named as vice-captains, while Rueben Thorne leads the side.

Gibson last featured for New Zealand in 2000 against France while his centre colleague Mark Robinson last played during the Tri-Nations series in the same year.

Full-back Christian Cullen and Howlett are the sole survivors from the side which beat Italy 56-19 in Genoa in Genoa at the end of 2000.

Coach John Mitchell said the game was a good opportunity to blood new players.

"We have an extensive programme ahead of us so we have to use our squad wisely and always keep one eye on the bigger picture," he said.

"It's a matter of putting faith in the whole squad."

Italian strength

Mitchell warned that Italy, who are unbeaten after the first two matches of their short tour, would raise the level of their game significantly for the Test.

"They'll pull out all the stops to make it as hard for us as they can," Mitchell said.

"Teams always raise the level of their game against the All Blacks.

"John Kirwan (Italian coach) is a proud guy and I'm sure he has instilled a strong sense of pride and determination in his team."

New Zealand Test XV:
Christian Cullen (Wellington), Doug Howlett (Auckland), Mark Robinson (Canterbury), Daryl Gibson (Canterbury, vice-captain), Caleb Ralph (Canterbury), Andrew Mehrtens (Canterbury), Byron Kelleher (Otago), Taine Randell (Otago), Richard McCaw (Canterbury), Reuben Thorne (Canterbury, captain), Norm Maxwell (Canterbury), Simon Maling (Otago), Kees Meeuws (Auckland), Tom Willis (Otago, vice-captain), Joe McDonnell (Otago).
Reserves: Mark Hammett (Canterbury), Dave Hewett (Canterbury), Chris Jack (Canterbury), Marty Holah (Waikato), Justin Marshall (Canterbury), Aaron Mauger (Canterbury), Jonah Lomu (Wellington).

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