Taniwha in 7s

Northland Taniwha player Scott Gregory is in line to make his debut for the All Blacks Sevens after being included in the 13-man team named by coach Clark Laidlaw for the first legs of the 2018/19 HSBC Sevens World Series in Dubai and Cape Town. Gregory received the call up after co-captain Tim Mikkelson decided to remain in New Zealand with the impending arrival of his first child. The All Blacks Sevens were beaten finalists at Dubai last year but went on to win the Cape Town event the following week, noted coach Laidlaw, adding the team’s focus is again on starting strongly this season. The All Blacks Sevens departed New Zealand yesterday afternoon and will train in Abu Dhabi for the remainder of the week before travelling to Dubai for this weekend’s season opener. Fixtures on the 2017/18 series are, Dubai from November 30 to December 1, Cape Town from December 8-9, Hamilton from January 26-27, Sydney from February 2-3, Las Vegas from March 1-3, Vancouver from March 9-10, Hong Kong from April 5-7, Singapore from April 13-14, London from May 25-26, and Paris from June 1-2.