All Black tour squad to face Boks, Pumas

New Zealand has named its 28-man squad to tour South Africa and Argentina for the away-leg of the Rugby Championship tournament.

All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter has been included in the squad, despite dealing with a calf strain.

All Blacks Head Coach Steve Hansen said: “Dan is recovering well from his calf injury and we are expecting him to be fit for selection for the Argentinian Test. However, to be on the safe side we are also taking Beauden Barrett as cover at five-eighth, alongside Aaron Cruden.”

The only noticeable omission is that of front-rower Wyatt Crocket.

“As we are only able to take 28 players on tour, to include Beauden we unfortunately have to leave one player behind and the logical choice was for a prop to miss out. In this case, it made sense to leave Wyatt Crockett at home as we can cover all our bases with the other four props,” Hansen added.

All Black tour squad:

Forwards: Andrew Hore, Keven Mealamu, Charlie Faumuina, Ben Franks, Owen Franks, Tony Woodcock, Brodie Retallick, Luke Romano, Sam Whitelock, Sam Cane, Richie McCaw, Liam Messam, Kieran Read, Adam Thomson, Victor Vito.

Backs: Aaron Smith, Piri Weepu, Beauden Barrett, Daniel Carter, Aaron Cruden, Tamati Ellison, Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Israel Dagg, Hosea Gear, Cory Jane, Ben Smith, Julian Savea.