Canterbury duo Greg Somerville and Andrew Ellis have overcome injury to seal places in New Zealand’s World Cup squad.
The pair were named in a 30-man squad sent to the International Rugby Board.
Veteran Crusaders prop Somerville recently completed a year-long rehabilitation from a complex Achilles tendon operation.
His comeback was stalled by a displaced retina during an early-season provincial game.
"I’d like to congratulate Greg for his perseverance," said New Zealand coach Graham Henry.
"He has come back well from a couple of injuries and the way he handled set-backs during rehab shows the quality of the man.
"The signs are that he’ll be ready for contact before we leave for France, and we’ll have a good amount of training time with him in Marseille as well."
Ellis was also retained in the squad despite suffering ill effects from a blow to the head at the weekend.
New Zealand squad:
Backs – M Muliaina, L MacDonald, D Howlett, J Rokocoko, S Sivivatu, I Toeava, C Smith, L McAlister, A Mauger, D Carter, N Evans, B Kelleher, B Leonard, A Ellis.
Forwards – R So’oialo, C Masoe, R McCaw (captain), J Collins, S Lauaki, R Thorne, A Williams, C Jack, K Robinson, C Hayman, G Somerville, N Tialata, T Woodcock, A Oliver, K Mealamu, A Hore.
