The All Black selectors have named a 25 man training squad, which will take on the New Zealand Barbarians on Wednesday.

This isn't the full squad that will tour the Northern hemisphere in a few weeks, as none of the Wellington or Canterbury players have been selected due to their upcoming Air New Zealand Cup final this weekend.

There have been a few new names added to the All Blacks squad from earlier in the year, including Jamie Mackintosh, Liam Meesam, Tanerau Latimer, Scott Waldrom and Ben Franks (Franks trained with the team earlier in the year when Afoa was injured, but did not play). Jason Eaton and Joe Rokocoko have both been added to the squad, which gives them a great opportunity to regain their place in the final squad.

The selection of Scott Waldrom is probably the biggest shot out of the blue, but since his return from a career-threatening injury he has been in great form - for both the Hurricanes and Taranaki. We expect that his brother Thomas will also make the squad, after he's finished with Wellington's season.

Latimer is also a surprising selection - for us, anyway - but like Scott, he's a solid player that seems to fly under the radar. Whether or not these two make the final squad (it would seem highly unlikely considering McCaw, So'oialo and probably Thomas Waldrom will make the loose forwards), it's a good sign that our depth in the loose forward position is extremely deep right now.

Our thoughts - the loose forwards will be McCaw, So'oialo, Kaino, Thomson, Meesam and T. Waldrom - but we wouldn't be surprised if Keiran Reid also gets the nod. The only worrying selection is that they've also picked Sione Luaki in the training squad, and we don't feel he's good enough at Test level.

It's great to finally see Mackintosh get selected. He's been in great form for Southland this year, and continues to mature into another of New Zealand's fine prop forwards. If it came down to either him or Franks getting the nod, we'd certainly go with the Southlander.

Eaton must be counting his blessings at his reselection. His form in the Air New Zealand Cup has not been his best, and with the likes of Jeremy Thrush and Tom Donnelly continuing to grow in the locking position, he must be considering himself quite lucky. He does, however, have the talent to play for the All Blacks. We've seen it over the past few years, and he'll just have to put the last few months behind him and take this opportunity with both hands.

The omission of Hika Elliot suggests to us that Graham Henry and Co have Corey Flynn in mind as the third hooker, or possibly (although highly unlikely), young Dane Coles, who has been impressing a few people for Wellington this year.

We definitely think there'll be a few more newcomers once the Wellington and Canterbury players are added on Sunday morning, so the players in the training squad had better train hard if they want to make the final selection.

They've been given the opportunity - the rest is in their hands.