All Blacks begin return to NPC duty

All Blacks squad members are set to rejoin the ranks of the NPC over the next few weeks starting today.

Auckland's John Afoa and Jerome Kaino are expected to rejoin their Auckland team mates for today's match against Bay of Plenty, while several All Blacks will have a week to recover from the Tri-Nations tests and then be available to their NPC squads for round six. Another group will have an additional two or three weeks for recovery.

"We want to get players back into the NPC as soon as possible," said All Blacks coach Graham Henry.

"Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis in the best interest of the individual. So we need to look at how much rugby any given player has had since the beginning of the year, the amount of contact, their position, plus any injury history."

Approximately half the squad are set to be available by round six. The balance of the team, players such as Rico Gear, Richie McCaw, Keven Mealamu and Tana Umaga who have had the heaviest workload, will rejoin the competition in a week or two later.

The All Blacks management has tracked time on the field and measured the amount of contact for every player through the Super 12, the Lions series and the Tri-Nations. Wing Rico Gear has had the most game time, with 19 matches, while Richie McCaw took the most contact per minute on the field.

Meanwhile, it was also confirmed today that the All Blacks will take a squad of 35 players to Britain and Ireland in November. The NZRU's board has approved the expanded squad for the All Blacks' four tests against the home nations.