Blues coach Pat Lam will coach the NZ Barbarians against the All Blacks. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The All Blacks squad for the end of season tour might not be named until Sunday-week but that won't stop them playing a warm-up match in West Auckland next Wednesday.
The All Blacks will take on a New Zealand Barbarians side coached by Pat Lam and consisting of
players from the Blues franchise area at Trusts Stadium in Waitakere next Wednesday at 2.30pm.
The game will serve as a warm-up for the All Blacks ahead of their November 1 Bledisloe Cup match against Australia in Hong Kong, and as a Blues trial.
All Blacks coach Graham Henry will officially name his 35-man touring party on October 26 - the day after the national championship final - but he admitted almost two weeks ago the touring squad was already as good as picked. Lam, who will name his first Blues squad on October 31, is expected to use the game as a final Blues trial.
The match continues attempts to revive a New Zealand Barbarians team that played its last meaningful match against England at Twickenham in 2003.
An inability to call on professional players has seen the Barbarians concept mothballed since, although there was an attempt to revive it in a pre-World Cup match against the All Blacks last year.
Playing under the auspices of the Barbarians, a selection of club players took on the All Blacks in two 50-minute matches, losing 79-0 and 69-0.
