KEY POINTS:
The Canterbury rugby selectors have named 10 uncapped players in a 26-man training squad ahead of their opening representative match of the season against Southland.
Canterbury play Southland at Invercargill on July 7, the first of three games that coach Rob Penney will use to prepare for the Air New Zealand Cup.
Canterbury's opening Cup match is against Bay of Plenty in Christchurch on July 28.
Penney is denied access to his All Blacks at this stage while Canterbury's nine Junior All Blacks -- Corey Flynn, Stephen Brett, Andrew Ellis, Wyatt Crockett, Campbell Johnstone, Scott Hamilton, Casey Laulala, Kieran Read and Mose Tuiali'i -- do not return to provincial training until early next month after the Pacific Nations Cup tournament.
Because of that Penney has chosen to deal with the Southland match in isolation, naming a squad specifically for that game, as opposed to unveiling his Air New Zealand Cup squad at this point.
Canterbury also have matches against the Sassenachs in Dunedin on July 14 and North Harbour in Christchurch on July 21, before the national provincial competition begins.
With so many experienced players unavailable, lock Kevin O'Neill is the most capped player named today, with 29 appearances to his name.
Hayden Hopgood (24), Steve Yates (18) and Isaac Ross (10) are the only others included to have raised double figures in terms of their provincial appearances.
The uncapped players named are Andrew Olorenshaw, Mike Smith, Rob McGregor, Cameron Eyre, Andrew Stead, Charles O'Connell, Colin Slade, Kodi Hepi and James Paterson.
Canterbury squad: Andrew Olorenshaw, Mike Smith, Josh Keys, Peter Borlase, Steve Fualau, Mikaele Tuu'u, Rob McGregor, Kevin O'Neill, Cameron Eyre, Isaac Ross, Michael Paterson, Hayden Hopgood, Andrew Stead, Charles O'Connell, Tyson Keats, Kevin Senio, Colin Slade, Hamish Gard, Kodi Hepi, Ben Nowell, Tim Bateman, Paul Williams, Steven Yates, Nick Thomson, James Paterson and Sean Maitland.
- NZPA
