Provincial sides prepare for battle

Northland will be one of 16 provincial unions represented at the TECT National Sevens being contested in Tauranga this weekend albeit only in the men’s division.

A field of 16 men’s and 12 women’s teams who qualified at the Northern, Central and Southern regional qualifying tournaments earlier in the month will vie for top honours this Saturday and Sunday at the Tauranga Domain.

In the men’s division, Tasman, Wellington and Counties Manukau topped their respective qualifying events, with defending champions Waikato finishing second in their Northern Region tournament.

South Canterbury and Wairarapa Bush join the 14 Mitre 10 Cup Unions to round out the 2018 men’s competitors.

Defending women’s champions Manawatu led the charge in the Central Region qualifier with Farah Palmer Cup Premiership champions Canterbury winning the Southern event and Auckland topping the Northern tournament.

TECT National Sevens not only sees silverware handed out to the country’s top sevens unions, it is also a key talent identification event for players eyeing higher honours with New Zealand Sevens selectors on hand to identify players for selection into the 2019 development teams.

The 2018 TECT National Sevens men’s teams are, from the Northern Region: Counties Manukau, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Auckland, North Harbour, Northland; Central Region: Wellington, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu, Taranaki, Wairarapa Bush; Southern Region: Tasman, Otago, Canterbury, South Canterbury, Southland.

The 2018 TECT National Sevens women’s teams are; Northern Region: Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Counties Manukau, North Harbour; Central Region: Manawatu, Wellington, Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, Southern Region: Canterbury, Otago and Tasman.