All Blacks have been banned from using their individual Twitter accounts during this year's Rugby World Cup because New Zealand team officials fear the social networking site may be too distracting.

Coach Graham Henry told Sky Television the team had not previously had a Twitter policy, other than to warn players to think carefully before tweeting.

But he said they will be told to refrain from using Twitter during the tournament at home in September and October.

Team manager Darren Shand said the ban had been devised by senior players.

"We don't want players doing it individually, it just creates distraction. We want to be totally focused on the job at hand," Shand said

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