All Blacks wing to chase Olympic glory

All Blacks winger Caleb Clarke will be going for gold in Tokyo after committing to New Zealand’s Olympic sevens squad.

Along with hot-stepping Chiefs star Etene Nanai-Seturo, Clarke will bolster New Zealand’s men’s team, the All Blacks sevens, Stuff understands.

The Highlanders’ Vilimoni Koroi will join Clarke and NanaiSeturo as Super Rugby players in the team, who will be unveiled at the sevens’ Mount Maunganui base on Monday, although Koroi has been with the sevens programme since the start of the season.

Hurricanes coach Jason Holland this week revealed his winger, Salesi Rayasi, was sticking with 15s for Super Rugby Trans-Tasman.

Any Super Rugby players considered have been with the sevens programme before, but Clarke’s return is the most compelling.

The 22-year-old was a revelation for the Blues and the All Blacks once rugby resumed after its hiatus last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. He played five tests after his All Blacks debut in October and was electric.

Before Covid-19, though, the Auckland prodigy was a key member of the Kiwi team on the World Sevens Series.

He made his international sevens debut in Sydney in January 2018.

Seeking their first Olympic medal after a disappointing fifthplaced finish at the 2016 Rio Games, the Kiwi men return to international sevens for the first time in 14 months against Australia in an Olympic warmup tournament in Auckland on May 21-23.