Wellington, Nov 25 NZPA - All Blacks Brad Thorn and Andy Ellis will head home after the test against France this weekend to spend time with their families, the New Zealand Rugby Union says.

Team manager Darren Shand said Ellis' wife was expecting their first baby and Thorn had a large, young family which he wanted to spend time with.

"Family life is obviously very important to the All Blacks players and management and we try and get players home when they need to be with their families. Andy and Brad need to go home and we agreed before the tour that they would leave after the French test," Shand said.

The decision on whether replacement hooker Aled de Malmanche would stay on for the match against the Barbarians in London would be made after the match on Saturday, he said.

On Sunday several players will visit the European headquarters of sponsors Adidas (in Germany) and Iveco (in Italy) before rejoining the team on Tuesday.