All Blacks in the firing line

All Blacks Richie McCaw (L) and Ali Williams (2nd R) with Terry Serepisos (R) and a cast member of <i>The Apprentice</i>. Photo / Herald on Sunday

All Blacks Richie McCaw and Ali Williams made a rare mid-summer visit to Eden Park yesterday - not to play rugby but to feature in an episode of TVNZ's new reality series The Apprentice.

At the shoot yesterday, Williams said the episode would feature a "challenge" involving Water for Everyone, the water brand he owns with McCaw and Daniel Carter.

When asked to elaborate on the challenge, Williams said: "We're unsure on the challenge, to be honest - that's the beauty of it."

Williams would not comment on what else he had been doing during the holiday period: "That's private stuff."

McCaw, a keen glider, was more forthcoming. "I've been on holiday," he said. "Doing a bit of flying."

Filming began on The Apprentice - fronted by Wellington property magnate and Phoenix football team owner Terry Serepisos - in early December.

Contestants must complete a different "business challenge" in each episode. The contestant deemed "weakest" by Serepisos at the end of each episode is eliminated by the delivery of the show's catchphrase "you're fired". Fourteen contestants seven men and seven women took part, and filming began in early December.

The eventual winner gets a job, complete with six-figure-salary, at one of Serepisos' companies.

The Apprentice will go to air on TV2 in February.