All Blacks announce Rugby Championship squad
New Zealand has named its squad for the upcoming Rugby Championships.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen said he and his fellow selectors were very happy with the squad and combinations they had come up with.
"The form of the players in Investec Super Rugby has been outstanding and, whilst there is not a lot of change from the Steinlager Series squad, it was still a challenging team to select. It was more a case of who do we leave out, rather than who do we pick.
"We're confident that we've picked the right players for the Championship, with some proven combinations and some Test experience being balanced out by the need to continue to grow the newer players in our environment."
Hansen said the number one goal for the All Blacks, clearly, was to win the Investec Rugby Championship but there were also secondary goals supporting that.
"One is to re-establish our team, from a leadership and playing point of view. The second goal is to grow the understanding and confidence of our newer pl