NZ 7s in finetune mode

WITH the borders closed, the All Blacks Sevens and Black Ferns Sevens will take their Olympics preparation to the capital.

Rugby fans in Wellington will be treated to a fastpaced weekend of sevens action with Takiwhitu Tuturu to feature eight teams playing across April 9-10 at Hataitai Park.

The men’s division sees two All Blacks Sevens teams, Tonga Invitational and Samoa Invitational, while two Black Ferns Sevens teams will go up against a Black Ferns (15s) selection and the Moana Pasifika women.

The weekend culminates with the All Blacks Sevens and Black Ferns Sevens playing exhibition fixtures at Sky Stadium either side of the Hurricanes v Crusaders match on the Sunday (April 11). New Zealand Rugby High Performance Sevens manager Tony Philp said with the borders closed it was pleasing to be able to create a high level of competition.

“We are lucky to have really talented sevens players in our country so putting together a tournament like this is key for Olympics preparation.

“It is also important for our teams to experience playing in a stadium environment again, so it is fantastic to link with the Hurricanes and play around their Super Rugby Aotearoa fixture.”

All Blacks Sevens co-captain Scott Curry said the team were eager to return to Wellington.

“A lot of us have great memories of playing at the Wellington Sevens, so its pretty cool to be heading back to the stadium to play some matches there.”