Henry adds Buenos Aires bench squad
Will McCaw face the Pumas?
New Zealand coach Graham Henry has named his extended squad for Saturday's one-off test against Argentina in Buenos Aires. But the big questionmark is the role of All Black captain Richie McCaw.
Henry has selected another 11 players from the squad that claimed a 2-0 series victory over Ireland to join the starting XV that were named earlier for the encounter with the Pumas.
Seven of the 11 will make up the replacements at the Velez Sarsfield stadium.
McCaw is likely to be one of those named on the bench.
His leadership makes him virtually indispensable for the All Blacks.
A heavy Super 14 workload and maximum involvement in the two Irish tests caused the All Blacks selectors to consider resting their inspirational leader and give him plenty of time to freshen up for next month's Tri-Nations opener against Australia on July 8.
But in the end coach Henry felt it was best to keep McCaw involved as he beds in his leadership and also helps stand-in skipper Jerry Collins.
And Henry insisted that the 26 players travelling were not guaranteed places in the Tri-Nations squad.
"We have selected what we believe is the right squad to prepare for this Test and the particular requirements of travelling to and playing in Argentina," said Henry.
"We will consider all of the players used in the first three Tests of the year and the Junior All Blacks when we select the 30 players to make up the Philips Tri Nations squad."
The versatility of players such as Ma'a Nonu and Craig Newby have helped their cause.
"We had to ensure we had versatility on the bench to cover other positions," said the coach.
"Ma'a's ability to cover the centres and wing positions and Craig Newby's coverage of all three back-row positions, made them a good fit for this match.
"We had considered allowing some of the All Blacks who had limited game time during the Irish Test matches to join the Junior All Blacks squad for the their last match in the Pacific Five Nations tournament.
"However, we took the opportunity to rotate selections during the Irish Tests and believe it is in the best interests of those players not going to Argentina to have some recovery and re-conditioning time, while the Junior All Blacks squad are progressing well and will benefit from maintaining their current squad."
The one-off test takes place in Buenos Aires next Saturday. The squad then returns to New Zealand ahead of the 2006 Tri-Nations, which kicks off with the Bledisloe Cup match against Australia on July 8.
New Zealand: 15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Rico Gear, 13 Isaia Toeava, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Scott Hamilton, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Mose Tuiali'i, 7 Chris Masoe, 6 Jerry Collins (captain), 5 Ali Williams, 4 Jason Eaton, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Anton Oliver, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements from: Jimmy Cowan, Byron Kelleher, Luke McAlister, Ma'a Nonu, Troy Flavell, Carl Hayman, Andrew Hore, Richie McCaw, Keven Mealamu, Craig Newby, Neemia Tialata.