Lima Sopoaga will start at fly-half for the All Blacks against Australia in the Bledisloe Cup match on Saturday, coming in for the concussed Beauden Barrett.

The Highlanders No 10 will make just his second start for New Zealand in his 13th cap – his first was his debut, over two years ago.

That was in a win against South Africa three months before the All Blacks were crowned world champions for a second consecutive time in July 2015.

Lima Sopoaga plays a pass during New Zealand's pre-Australia training session on Thursday

But since then he has been plagued by injuries – that and the fact that the best player in the world plays in his position.

So who is Sopoaga? Here, Sportsmail gives the lowdown on the new man in black.

WHAT IS HIS BACKGROUND?

Sopoaga is of Samoan and Cook Island descent. He was born in New Zealand's capital, Wellington and has five younger siblings.

One of his younger brothers Tupou started in rugby league and captained the Cook Islands, but now plays union for Southland and the Highlanders.

Lima grew up in Wellington before moving to the South Island to play for the Highlanders in 2011.

Talented fly-half Sopoaga is set for his first All Blacks start since his debut over two years ago

WHAT HAS HE DONE SINCE THEN?

In 2011 Sopoaga was part of the Baby Blacks team who won the junior World Cup, now known as the World U20 Championship.

New Zealand beat England 33-22 in Padova, Italy, and the line-ups from that day in June make for fascinating reading six years later.

JUNIOR WORLD CUP FINAL 2011 – NEW ZEALAND 33 ENGLAND 22

England: 15 Ben Ransom, 14 Andy Short, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Christian Wade, 10 George Ford, 9 Chris Cook; 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Mikey Haywood, 3 Henry Thomas, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Charlie Matthews, 6 Sam Jones, 7 Matt Kvesic, 8 Alex Gray (c).

Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Will Collier, 18 Sam Twomey, 19 Matt Everard, 20 Dan Robson, 21 Ryan Mills, 22 Marland Yarde.

New Zealand: 15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Mitchell Scott, 13 Francis Saili, 12 Lima Sopoaga, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 TJ Perenara; 1 Solomona Sakalia, 2 Codie Taylor, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 4 Steven Luatua, 5 Brodie Rettalick, 6 Brad Shields, 7 Sam Cane, 8 Luke Whitelock (c).

Replacements: 16 Sefo Setefano, 17 Michael Kainga, 18 Dominic Bird, 19 Carl Axtens, 20 Brad Weber, 21 Rhys Llewellyn, 22 Waisake Naholo.

The All Blacks man (pictured in August of this year) won the junior World Cup back in 2011

SOPOAGA FACT FILE Born: 3 February 1991, Wellington NZ Age: 26 Height: 5ft 9in Weight: 14st 5lbs Position: Fly-half All Black caps: 12 Test points: 47 (1 try, 15 conversions, 4 penalties) Super Rugby side: Highlanders Honours: Junior World Cup 2011, Super Rugby 2015 Advertisement

So at that age he played centre, with Barrett at full-back and a now-Welsh Gareth Anscombe at No 10 against George Ford and Owen Farrell.

After the tournament Sopoaga had two injury-hit seasons in 2012 and 2013, but by 2014 became the starting fly-half for the Highlanders, who were becoming a real Super Rugby force.

There he partnered Aaron Smith in the half-backs and the pair led the Landers to their first Super Rugby title in 2015, beating the Hurricanes.

That form saw him gain an All Black call-up for the 2015 Rugby Championship, where he made his debut in a 27-20 win away to South Africa.

But he was not selected for the World Cup – it is amazing to think now but the talk in New Zealand at the time was that he should have made the plane to England alongside Barrett and Colin Slade as third choice, travelling instead of their ageing playmaker…

That guy was called Dan Carter – whatever happened to him?

After Carter had lifted the Webb Ellis trophy at Twickenham and left New Zealand as the World Player of the Year to play in France, it was thought Sopoaga would have a chance to cement his place.

Even more so this season after Aaron Cruden's departure for Montpellier. But so dominant has Barrett been, Sopoaga has not had a sustained run in the side.

Sopoaga has made 12 appearances in his All Blacks career, but only one has been a start

WHAT SORT OF PLAYER IS HE?

Sopoaga made his name at the Highlanders as a superbly skilful fly-half, who plays flat to the line, conjuring tricks in the faces of the opposition.

His sometimes ridiculous innovations have caught the eye and are the stuff of YouTube folklore – especially one audacious move in 2016.

Against the Hurricanes he took the ball at first-receiver before turning his back on the defence. He then kicked the ball over his own head for his centre Matt Faddes to run onto – truly mad. The Barbarians would be proud.

He's very short – at 5ft 9 – that added to his pace means he is quite elusive. He also loves a cross-field dink to his wingers, and plays with typical Polynesian abandon.

He can be prone to mistakes though and has not been trusted to run the offensive line much for the All Blacks.

His goal-kicking is solid without being spectacular, but then again no one in New Zealand is as accurate as the likes of Owen Farrell and Leigh Halfpenny up here.

Sopoaga celebrates after scoring a try against South Africa in the 2017 Rugby Championship

CAN HE TAKE THE NO 10 SHIRT FROM BARRETT?

In a word, no.

Barrett is the best in the game and by far the first choice in New Zealand, but with him out concussed for the game in Brisbane on Saturday, this is a chance for Sopoaga to prove he can be a capable second-choice.

The All Blacks will need options when they get to Japan at the 2019 World Cup – Sopoaga will want to be one of them.

Who knows, Barrett could be felled in two years time, and they will need a deputy.