Rugby-New Zealand name unchanged team for World Cup final

(Adds details, quotes) By Mitch Phillips BAGSHOT, England, Oct 29 (Reuters) - New Zealand have selected an unchanged team and bench for Saturday's Rugby World Cup final against Australia as they seek to retain the title and become the first country to win the trophy three times. After the squad came through a bruising semi-final against South Africa, Steve Hansen is able to send out his strongest unit with the matchday 23 boasting a remarkable 1,339 caps. Dan Carter, playing his last international, will start at flyhalf having missed most of the last tournament after suffering an injury in the pool stage. "We came here as contenders for the Cup, just like everyone else. In our minds, we have never been defenders (of the trophy)," coach Hansen said. "We knew we would have to earn the right to progress through the tournament so being in the final is very satisfying in its own right, as it's the first Rugby World Cup Final an All Blacks team has made in the UK. "But the ultimate goal has always been to win it, so we are exactly where we need to be to try and achieve that." New Zealand have taken over England's usual training base at Pennyhill Park in Surrey and went through their paces on a soggy morning on Thursday. "We've had a great preparation so far this week at Pennyhill -- the boys are feeling really fresh and energised. We're building towards Saturday's match with a growing sense of determination and real excitement and I couldn't be happier with where we are at," Hansen said. "We know that all our fans here and at home are as excited as we are. Once again, we'd like to thank them for all their good wishes and support, and we'll be looking to put in a performance all of us can be proud of." New Zealand team 1-Joe Moody, 2-Dane Coles, 3-Owen Franks, 4-Brodie Retallick, 5-Sam Whitelock, 6-Jerome Kaino, 7-Richie McCaw (captain), 8-Kieran Read; 9-Aaron Smith, 10-Dan Carter, 11-Julian Savea, 12-Ma'a Nonu, 13-Conrad Smith, 14-Nehe Milner-Skudder, 15-Ben Smith. Replacements: 16-Keven Mealamu, 17-Ben Franks, 18-Charlie Faumuina, 19-Victor Vito, 20-Sam Cane, 21-Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22-Beauden Barrett, 23-Sonny Bill Williams. (Compiled by Mitch phillips; Editing by Ken Ferris)