ABs will get no respite from heavy workload

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The New Zealand Rugby Union is set to turn a deaf ear to pleas from senior All Blacks to ease the end-of-year tour workload next year.

At this stage, as negotiations near an end, it looks like there will still be five tests on next year's tour, which will include a third Grand Slam attempt in five years.

It's also understood that the NZRU is committing the All Blacks to another Asian stopover as they do what they can to battle the gloomy financial times.

The All Blacks have staggered, rather than swaggered, to their fifth test in as many weekends this morning against France, and still have a Barbarians fixture to complete their tour next weekend in London. That schedule has raised some concerns among players.

They see four-test tours as the ideal length for the November trip, but the NZRU is being forced to put much-needed revenue ahead of player welfare. It's understood England has been all but signed on as a revenue-generating add-on test for 2010, meaning the All Blacks will get another shot at the grand slam as Ireland, Wales and Scotland were already on the IRB schedule.

And, despite some wavering, NZRU officials are understood to be resigned to playing another fixture along the lines of the Bledisloe tests played in Hong Kong and Tokyo over the last two years.

With another loss forecast this fiscal year, NZRU officials believe they simply can't turn down the revenue.

All Blacks centre Conrad Smith said the length of the season was the main concern of players.

"It's a concern shared by everyone, I think," said Smith. "It's just tricky to get an answer because obviously there's a lot of different stake-holders that all have different interests.

"We're pretty young professionally as a sport and I think in 10-20 years' time we'll have it sorted. We are moving. We've pushed hard for a later start with Super 14 and we got a little bit there."

Smith said this year's six-week tour was proving at least a week, maybe even a fortnight, too long. The tired looks on All Blacks' faces in Marseille certainly confirmed that.

Brad Thorn and Andy Ellis are both being released today to head home a week early for family reasons.

- © Fairfax NZ News