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The IRB's Experimental Law Variations should create an open match between New Zealand and South Africa on Saturday according to All Blacks coach Graham Henry.

The match in Wellington is the first international to be played under the new rules, which were trialled in the Super 14.

Although both sides played their three earlier internationals this season under the existing laws, Saturday's opening Tri-nations match will allow for the ELVs to be used.

The changes were designed to speed the game up, though Henry (pictured) said the weather, which is expected to turn sour on Saturday, could play a part in whether or not the game was free-flowing.

"The five metres back from the scrum and ability to throw the ball in quickly and back towards your own goal line will quicken up the game," Henry told reporters on Friday.

"I think it's a more athletic game but whether the weather conditions are conducive to that we will have to see.

"The big thing about ELVs is the tackle area still and the refereeing of the tackle area. If the refereeing is accurate and the team plays well in that area and is highly skilled then that increases the spectacle of the game."

The All Blacks, who have struggled at the lineout in recent years, are likely to take advantage of the new laws that allow quick throw-ins and different numbers in the lineout to try and negate the aerial threat of Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha.

Henry, however, was coy about the All Blacks' tactics.

"It's a wee bit of an unknown," he said. "Nobody has played under these rules before and you're not quite sure how the opposition is going to work.

Henry said the basics of the game remained the same, regardless of the ELVs.

"You have to scrum well, lineout well and you have to tackle. It comes back to the same skills we used to have but with a bit more pressure," he said.

South Africa coach Peter de Villiers said he was comfortable with two of his key players, lock Matfield and hooker John Smit, playing their first match under the laws.

Matfield and captain Smit missed the Super 14 because of club commitments in France, though de Villiers was not concerned.

"They can adapt quickly because of the players around them," he said. "They know what happened in Super 14.

"They are very professional and before they even came to our first training camp they were clued up to what was going on."

De Villiers said he doubts his side will have any problems adapting to the ELVs.

"Any new law calls for adaptation," he said. "The team who takes longer to adapt will always have a bad draw."

Reuters