Chiefs first-five Stephen Donald appears to be out of the running for the place in the All Blacks Rugby World Cup squad after he was left out of an All Black camp.
The All Blacks coaches and management team will hold two pre-season camps during the Super Rugby Finals Series as preparations continue for the international season.
A number of players from the Hurricanes, Chiefs and Highlanders, as well as several injured players, will attend the first camp in Wellington next week on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 June.
The second camp will also be held in Wellington the following week on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 July.
The All Blacks Tri Nations squad will be named on Sunday 9 July.
All Blacks Coach Graham Henry said: “The camps are a key part of our preparation for the season and will give us a great opportunity to assess where a number of players are at after a demanding Super Rugby season.”
“While the first All Blacks squad for the year won’t be named until July the 9th, these players are in contention for selection so we were keen to monitor their progress as well as further develop their skills,” Henry added.
Henry said the camps would involve mainly skill-based training and New Zealand Sevens Coach Gordon Tietjens, who recently lead his side to their ninth Sevens World Series title, would take a training run on day two of the camp.
Henry said the camps would also give the All Blacks medical staff the chance to assess those injured players, as well as others carrying niggles.
The players invited to the first camp next week are as follows:
Chiefs: Ben Afeaki, Hikawera Elliot, Richard Kahui, Brendon Leonard, Liam Messam, Mils Muliaina and Sitiveni Sivivatu.
Hurricanes: Aaron Cruden, Hosea Gear, Andrew Hore, Cory Jane, Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Neemia Tialata, Victor Vito and Piri Weepu.
Highlanders: Jimmy Cowan, Tom Donnelly, Jarrad Hoeata, Colin Slade, Ben Smith and Adam Thomson.
Injured players: Israel Dagg, Isaia Toeava and Tony Woodcock.