All Blacks Brad Thorn and Andy Ellis will head home after the
test against France this weekend to spend time with their
families, the New Zealand Rugby Union says.
Team manager Darren Shand said Ellis' wife was expecting
their first baby and Thorn had a large, young family which he
wanted to spend time with.
"Family life is obviously very important to the All Blacks
players and management and we try and get players home when
they need to be with their families. Andy and Brad need to go
home and we agreed before the tour that they would leave
after the French test," Shand said.
The decision on whether replacement hooker Aled de Malmanche
would stay on for the match against the Barbarians in London
would be made after the match on Saturday, he said.
On Sunday several players will visit the European
headquarters of sponsors Adidas (in Germany) and Iveco (in
Italy) before rejoining the team on Tuesday.
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