The evolution of the All Blacks Sevens squad continues, with four new faces included in the squad for the Wellington and Las Vegas legs of the IRB world series.
Coach Gordon Tietjens identified a handful of talented but untried players at the domestic championships this month and wants to see how they perform at the international level.
The four newcomers are Waikato utility back Dylan Collier, Otago wing Josh Gordon, Taranaki ITM Cup squad member Beaudein Waaka and Auckland schoolboy Rieko Ioane, brother of former All Blacks Sevens player Akira Ioane.
Players unavailable due to injury are Declan O'Donnell, Joe Tupe and Sam Vaka.
"I have kept a close eye on these young players for some time," Tietjens said.
"They were certainly stand-outs at the national sevens in Rotorua so it's great to be able to include them in the squad for the first time."
Series defending champions New Zealand failed to win any of the first three tournaments and are third behind leaders South Africa and Fiji.
They must finish in the top four in the series to ensure automatic qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"This is also an important tournament for us given our current position in the series," Tietjens said.
The Wellington tournament is on February 6-7 followed a week later by the event in Las Vegas.
NZ squad:
Tomasi Cama, Dylan Collier, Scott Curry, Ambrose Curtis, Sam Dickson, DJ Forbes, Jack Goodhue, Josh Gordon, Rieko Ioane, Gillies Kaka, Tim Mikkelson, Lote Raikabula, Sherwin Stowers, Murphy Taramai, Beaudein Waaka, Joe Webber.
Share
