KEY POINTS:
The All Blacks will get around a tight lead-in to their first rugby test of the year against Ireland by holding a training camp before the Super 14 is completed.
Coach Graham Henry faces an intensely short period to get his team up to speed before facing the Irish in Wellington on June 7, with the Super 14 final scheduled to be played the previous Saturday.
All Blacks manager Darren Shand said a training group of leading players would assemble in Auckland in the last week of May but wouldn't feature players involved in the Super 14 final.
The camp would last two to three days and would be contingent on peripheral issues, Shand added.
"As in previous years, we may have some players train together," Shand said in a statement.
"Clearly these would be players the coaches were looking at closely, but coming to the camp would not guarantee selection."
The 26-man All Blacks squad for the June tests against Ireland and England and the Tri-Nations would be named on June 1, the day after the Super 14 final.
Shand said there had been some thought of naming the squad before the final but that had "sensibly" been quashed.
The makeup of the squad could also be adjusted for the trip to South Africa where they face the Springboks in Cape Town on August 17.
"The coaches expect to name two halfbacks and hookers in the initial squad, but it may be prudent to have more specialist cover when we play the Springboks in Cape Town.
"If that's the case, we would expect to swap those specialists with other squad members for the week and travel with 26 players."
- NZPA
