Clarke, Masirewa in All Blacks 7s squad
The All Blacks sevens squad includes debutant 18-year-old Caleb Clarke, son of former All Black Eroni Clarke and Luke Masirewa who makes a comeback after last appearing in 2013
Coach Clark Laidlaw said the squad returned from the summer break in fantastic condition.
“We had 15 out of 17 players record Personal Bests in the fitness testing which seems ridiculous after a few weeks away. But the break was good because we’d had a lot happening since we centralised, so the players time away and they have returned really refreshed.”
The only changes from the Cape Town tournament see Clarke and Masirewa replace the injured Trael Joass and Dylan Collier.
“It’s an opportunity for these players and it is the start of us building depth in our squad. We are happy with the group of players we have got so giving them time out on the field is important,” said Laidlaw. Clarke joins the All Blacks Sevens environment from Investec Super Rugby pre-season training with the Blues.
Masirewa joined the squad on Monday after an impressive Bayleys National Sevens campaign with Bay of Plenty. Laidlaw said it has been a long-term plan getting Masirewa back in the back jersey.
The squad is (* indicates new caps): Kurt Baker, Caleb Clarke*, Scott Curry, Sam Dickson, Andrew Knewstubb, Vilimoni Koroi, Luke Masirewa, Tim Mikkelson, Sione Molia, Joe Ravouvou,
Teddy Stanaway, Regan Ware, Joe Webber.