Greg Somerville has answered an emergency call from New Zealand to join the squad for the Test against Australia.
Veteran accepts coach's call for Bledisloe clash
Greg Somerville has answered an emergency call from New Zealand to join the squad for the Test against Australia in Hong Kong.
The experienced Somerville was originally left out of the 35-member squad after boss Graham Henry chose to experiment with some of his younger players.
But Somerville, who was called up as late cover for recovering knee-injury-victim John Afoa, joined the squad for training before they flew out of Auckland on Monday.
Saturday's match in Asia is the first leg of a six-game tour for the All Blacks that includes 'Grand Slam' Tests against England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
Somerville is available for the All Blacks in Hong Kong but will not feature on the European leg of the tour because of his commitments to English club Gloucester.
Experience
The 30-year-old tight-head is New Zealand's most capped prop and had been an automatic choice in the team since 2000 but was overlooked for the end of season tour after deciding to quit his homeland for Gloucester.
Afoa, who has played nine Tests since making his international debut in 2005, confirmed his intention to stick with the All Blacks when he signed a new deal with the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) through to the 2011 World Cup.
Centre Ma'a Nonu also agreed to stay in New Zealand for another three seasons while outside backs Joe Rokocoko, Conrad Smith and Anthony Tuitavake all agreed to two-year extensions.
NZRU general manager Neil Sorensen is delighted to have a number of home-grown stars plying their trade in their native land.
"To have this group of experienced and talented guys in their prime and wanting to contribute further to New Zealand rugby is fantastic," Sorensen said.
A decision on who will play against the Australians is not expected until later in the week.
