JULIAN LINDEN, Wellington | Sunday 7.00pm.
TRIUMPHANT Super 12 captain Todd Blackadder was named on Sunday as captain of the 26-man All Blacks squad which will cover the side’s entire season.
He replaces Otago’s Taine Randell, who led the All Blacks through a series of losses and a particularly poor showing in the World Cup last year.
Coach Wayne Smith said the decision to appoint Blackadder would allow Randell to concentrate on playing without the pressure of the captaincy.
Blackadder returned to New Zealand on Sunday evening after taking the Canterbury Crusaders to an historic third Super 12 win with a 20-19 victory over the ACT Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.
The Crusaders’ three-year dominance of the Super 12 tournament, which features teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, was reflected by the presence of 11 of their players in the squad, the selectors said.
The squad also features six new caps with four Crusaders — Mark Robinson, Leon MacDonald, Ron Cribb and Super 12 star prop Greg Somerville — joining the side as well as Auckland’s Doug Howlett and Troy Flavell.
Upcoming matches for the squad of 14 forwards and 12 backs include the June 16 test against Tonga, two tests against Scotland and the four-test Tri-Nations series against Australia and South Africa which starts in July.
All Blacks squad:
Outside backs: Leon MacDonald, Christian Cullen, Tana Umaga, Doug Howlett, Jonah Lomu.
Inside backs: Mark Robinson, Andrew Mehrtens, Tony Brown, Pita Alatini, Alama Ieremia, Byron Kelleher, Juston Marshall.
Loose forwards: Ron Cribb, Taine Randell, Scott Robinson, Josh Kronfeld, Reuben Thorne.
Tight forwards: Todd Blackadder, Norm Maxwell, Troy Flavell, Craig Dowd, Carl Hoeft, Kees Meeuws, Greg Somerville, Anton Oliver, Mark Hammett. — Reuters