Dan Carter is back, but it’s elsewhere in the All Blacks lineup to face Australia on Saturday night that Graham Henry has sprung the real surprises.

Luke McAlister and Kieran Read earn promotions for the high-stakes Bledisloe II showdown at the Olympic Stadium in Sydney, while out-of-form wing Josevata Rokocoko has survived the cull.

All three will be regarded as contentious decisions, though an injury scare could yet rule the Harbour utility back out and hand a reprieve for Ma'a Nonu who joins Rodney So'oialo and Stephen Donald in being relegated to bench roles.

McAlister sat out the majority of a two-hour training run at North Sydney Oval today with what appeared to be a recurrence of a back problem that has bothered him this season.

Nonu spent the majority of the session running in the midfield outside Carter, though at this stage Henry has left McAlister in the No 12 jersey for just his second test start of the year.

So'oialo drops to the bench after two flat performances against the Springboks, with young Cantab Kieran Read given the chance to start his first Tri-Nations test, and his fifth international all told, at No 8.

It is the first time the experienced Wellington loose forward has not been a first-choice selection since 2005. So'oialo was rested for one test on the Grand Slam against Scotland last year, but has started almost every test since.

He was left out of the first three tests of this year due to a neck injury after struggling through the latter stages of the Super 14, but started in the opening three tests of the Tri-Nations.

The extent of McAlister's problems is unclear, but it appeared to be a recurrence of the back spasms that saw him miss several weeks of club rugby in the build up to the first Bledisloe Cup test in Auckland last month.

If he is ruled out it would throw Wellington's Nonu a lifeline to extend his run of 21 consecutive starts, but at this stage he will take his place on the bench.

Carter and McAlister last combined in the five-eighths for the ill-fated 18-20 World Cup quarterfinal defeat to France in Cardiff in 2007. After that McAlister spent two seasons with Sale in England before returning to New Zealand in May.

He struggled during his early efforts off the bench in two tests against France, then had a shocker against Italy at first-five. There have been mixed efforts for North Harbour in recent weeks both at second and first five.

Carter's return was anticipated, with the world-class five-eighth a certainty to be brought in for his 60th test appearance once he'd proven his readiness at the provincial level with Canterbury.

Ad Feedback Donald, who filled the No 10 void for Carter, was always going to make way for the peerless No 10, especially with the All Blacks badly in need of an injection of class after their back-to-back defeats in South Africa.

Carter, who will be playing his 14th test against Australia, has scored 153 points against the trans-Tasman foes and is third on the All Blacks' all-time list behind Andrew Mehrtens (202) and Grant Fox (159).

But Rokocoko's retention on the right wing will surprise some, especially after the Auckland speedster's poor efforts in the Republic.

Rokocoko appeared to regain some confidence with a two-try performance for Auckland against Northland at the weekend but it's a big call to give him the nod for a match of this magnitude when Cory Jane has played so solidly in his limited opportunities this year.

Henry said it was a match of huge stakes for both sides.

"It doesn't get much bigger than this," he said. "The Bledisloe Cup is on the line and it's really a win or lose match in the Investec Tri Nations so that makes it an exciting challenge for us."

Prop Owen Franks remains as tighthead prop after a promising sort of first start in South Africa, with Henry leaving his tight five unchanged.

With Piri Weepu not available to cross the Tasman because of an ankle injury, Brendon Leonard fills the bench halfback's spot behind Jimmy Cowan, while Chiefs hooker Aled de Malmanche will make his second test appearance off the bench behind Andrew Hore.

Fullback Mils Muliaina will reach a milestone this weekend, playing in his 75th test, while Richie McCaw will captain the All Blacks for the 36th time in his 74th test.

It's also a special test for the coaching trio of Henry, Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen, with the coaches taking charge of their 70th All Blacks test. They have presided over 58 victories in 69 matches, for a winning record of 84 per cent.

The All Blacks have played Australia 133 times since 1903 with 89 wins, 39 defeats and five draws. The All Blacks won the last Bledisloe 22 -16 in last month's Tri-Nations opener in Auckland and also won the last test in Australia, the 28-24 win in Brisbane to seal last year's Tri-Nations.

The match kicks off at 10pm (NZT).

ALL BLACKS: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock. Reserves: 16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 John Afoa, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Rodney So'oialo, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Ma'a Nonu.

WALLABIES: 15 James O'Connor, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Richard Brown, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson. Reserves: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 David Pocock, 20 Will Genia, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Peter Hynes.

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