Sir Gordon Tietjens put his latest training squad of players through day one of a three-day camp at Mount Maunganui yesterday to prepare for the final two legs of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Glasgow (May 3-4) and London (May 10-11).
Tietjens' side holds a slender seven-point lead over South Africa and he will make his final selection for the players to join the team tomorrow.
Crusaders player Adam Whitelock made a surprise appearance at the camp but impressed Tietjens with his fitness and rugby nous.
"He expressed a real interest over the last 12 months to have a crack at Sevens," Tietjens said.
"Super Rugby has prevented that but he has been floating around as a back-up I suppose. They released him to come here. He is the fittest Crusader and the game suits him. He wants to have a crack at going to the Comm Games and going down the Sevens track."