All Blacks left feeling naked in Cardiff

The All Blacks have been left kicking their bootless heels in Cardiff as they await the arrival of their baggage which was left sitting on the tarmac of Rome's Ciampino airport on Sunday.

The bulk of the All Blacks' inventory was driven by truck to Cardiff, but the captain of their charter flight to the UK removed the team's bags from the plane's hold for weight reasons.

Attempts to get a commercial airline company to make the delivery had been rebuffed as it is their policy not to take unaccompanied baggage, meaning the All Blacks were left to organise a second flight from the charter company.

Upon arrival on Sunday night, players and management were forced to wear their tracksuits to a charity dinner because their formal team wear is also in Rome, along with personal toiletries.

Outdoor training was cancelled on Monday because the absent luggage contains the players' boots, making for what coach Graham Henry called an "irritating" start to the buildup for Saturday's Test at Millennium Stadium.

"It's a bit of an irritation but it's beyond our control," Henry told the NZPA.

"It's just the way it is, the pilot refused to put the gear on the plane. It's sitting on the tarmac in Rome, it's not much bloody good there.

"But we're not totally inconvenienced, we're eating, we've got a bed to sleep in, we've got a roof over our heads. We're in great shape."

The All Blacks are hoping to be reunited with their personal belongings on Tuesday.