Muliaina will hope to add to his 94 caps for the All Blacks during the 2011 Rugby World Cup before he makes the switch to Japan © Getty Images

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Players/Officials: Sir Graham Henry | Mils Muliaina | Sitiveni Sivivatu

Teams: Chiefs | New Zealand

Former Chiefs captain Mils Muliaina has raised doubts over whether the extended Super Rugby format should have been introduced during a World Cup year.

Muliaina has just completed a two-day All Blacks training camp in Newtown and following his 11th season of Super Rugby, the All Blacks international admitted the past season had been tough for those involved. "We're in July now, and, far out, we're still going in Super rugby," Muliaina said. "There's no doubt it's been a long season. The New Zealand conference has just been hard yakka. You come up against guys and you're just bashing the crap out of each other for provincial pride - it's been really tough,"

Fullback Muliaina, who has made 101 Super Rugby appearances, was unsure whether the extended format was going to be beneficial for the national side. In 2007, Graham Henry withdrew 22 of his squad for the first half of the Super Rugby season, and this year it is the complete reverse with Blues and Crusaders players missing his recent training camp in favour of playing in the knockout stages of Super Rugby.

"It is a World Cup year and you've tested out a new format, Muliaina said. "It might be a smart thing - you don't know - it is something different that you've got to contend with in a World Cup year. I think they guys are professional enough, and hopefully they are, to be able to come through it and play well."

The former Chiefs captain will join the exodus to Japan after the World Cup and the 94-cap All Black is going to make the most of his limited time left with the national side. "You do savour those sort of moments knowing that it's not going to come around next year. It is nice to be back in the environment. You see the management, not just the coaches, but everyone that's involved and it's exciting, especially when you haven't done so well in Super rugby."

The All Blacks squad for the Tri-Nations is named on July 10 and they face Fiji in their opening international of the year in Dunedin on July 22.