All Blacks Brodie Retallick has joked that he's struggling to cope with the sheer number of teammates travelling to Japan on the first leg of this year's end of year tour, with coach Steve Hansen naming a whopping 51-man squad.
With 32 players in Hansen's squad to travel to Europe, a further 19 are travelling with the side to Japan, where the All Blacks will face their hosts as well as Australia.
Speaking at Auckland Airport as the team departed this afternoon, Retallick made light of the number of new faces present on tour.
"I've never been a part of a squad that big before, I guess we'll have to run two buses," he said.
"One bus is pretty packed these days, it'll be a bit different, but no doubt it'll be a bit fun."
Retallick also spoke of his delight for the number of new players travelling with the All Blacks for the Japan leg of the tour.
"It'd be exciting for those boys."
"Whether they play a part or not, it's exciting to have them here, and to see what they can do."
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