All Blacks to play Munster as part of European tour

New Zealand manager Darren Shand has announced a 26-man squad for the Tests against England and Ireland and the Tri-Nations series.

Shand confirmed the first national squad since last year’s World Cup will be named on June 1, the day after the Super 14 final.

He also revealed players not involved in that match could enter a training camp in May.

“As in previous years, we may have some players train together but it would not involve players from teams in the Rebel Sport Super 14 final,” he said.

“Clearly these would be players the coaches were looking at closely, but coming to the camp would not guarantee selection.”

The squad may be expanded for the trip to face world champions South Africa in Cape Town, and will grow to 35 for the end-of-season European tour.

“The coaches expect to name two half-backs and hookers in the initial squad, but it may be prudent to have more specialist cover when we play the Springboks in Cape Town,” Shand added.

“If that’s the case, we would expect to swap those specialists with other squad members for the week and travel with 26 players.”

Meanwhile, a midweek match with Heineken Cup finalists Munster has been confirmed as part of the autumn tour.

The fixture, set for November 18 in Limerick, follows an invitation from the Irish Rugby Football Union to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Irish province’s famed victory over the All Blacks and to officially open a renovated Thomond Park.

New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew said: “Munster has a proud history including their famous 1978 victory and a European Rugby Cup final this season.

Munster Chief Executive Garrett Fitzgerald added: “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate such an auspicious occasion than for Munster to play one of the top ranked teams in the world in our own stadium.”