Injuries force All Blacks Sevens changes

An unprecedented run of injuries has seen the All Blacks Sevens squad call up three players ahead of the Cape Town Sevens this weekend.

Trael Joass, Etene Nanai-Seturo and Taylor Haugh will all join the All Blacks Sevens in South Africa this week.

While in Dubai last week Kurt Baker, Jona Nareki and Akuila Rokolisoa all sustained injuries before the tournament began, while Sam Dickson, Scott Curry and Regan Ware picked up injuries over the course of the weekend.

Despite only having nine available players for the Dubai Final, the All Blacks Sevens claimed the title with a 21-5 win over USA.

Baker, Rokolisoa, Dickson, and Curry have all returned to New Zealand while Nareki and Ware have travelled to South Africa with the possibility of being available to play this weekend.

Trael Joass was the only available contracted player in New Zealand and left for South Africa last night.

Etene Nanai-Seturo, who was a part of the Commonwealth Games Gold medal winning team in April, has been released by the Chiefs to join the team. Taylor Haugh was a part of the All Blacks Sevens squad at last month’s Oceania Sevens. Both players will depart for South Africa today.

New Zealand Rugby High Performance Sevens Manager Tony Philp said it was a unique situation.

“The mix of injuries and also unavailable players is not something we have experienced like this before, so we are incredibly grateful to be able to send players over to join the team that have experience in our environment,” he told the All Blacks Sevens’ official website.

“We are hugely thankful to the Chiefs for releasing Etene from his pre-season duties, this highlights the positive relationships we have been fostering with Super Clubs and is another example of how we can work together.”

Tim Mikkelson was unavailable due the impending arrival of his first child while Joe Webber is continuing his recovery from an arthritic injury and Joe Ravouvou awaits his New Zealand citizenship after changes to the World Series eligibility rules prevents him from competing until such time.