Clarke could be off-limits for Blues
OLYMPIC hopefuls such as All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke are likely to switch to sevens in May and potentially miss at least five weeks of Super Rugby.
Tony Philp, New Zealand Rugby’s high performance sevens manager, is hoping May is the return date for New Zealand’s men’s and women’s sevens teams’ comeback to the international game.
Neither team have played in an international tournament since the COVID-19 pandemic halted their respective World Series last March.
Clarke is among a small pool of Super Rugby players eyeing an Olympics gold medal at the Tokyo Games in July, but their commitment to Super Rugby Aotearoa means they’re not training under coach Clark Laidlaw with the men’s sevens team for the meantime.
As well as Clarke, who played in New Zealand’s victory at the last sevens World Series event in Vancouver before his breakout season in 15s for the Blues and the All Blacks, wingers Etene Nanai-Seturo (Chiefs) and Salesi Rayasi (Hurricanes) are in the mix for Tokyo, as is Clarke’s Super Rugby teammate, rookie Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens.
That quartet have been with their Super Rugby teams since pre-season in the summer.
Another contender is Highlanders flyer Jona Nareki, although he last played sevens in black in 2019 and appears to have committed to the 15s game.
Philp said those Super Rugby players would need to come into the sevens environment in May to improve their chances of selection for the Olympics.