Sir Gordon Tietjens got the physical training run he wanted for his All Blacks Sevens squad when they took on a Bay of Plenty selection at Blake Park yesterday.
In a game of four quarters, expertly refereed by 18-year-old Amon Rimene, the watching crowd were surprised at the intensity of the players who were keen to impress in front of Tietjens.
The Bay of Plenty selection included the highly promising Dan Hollinshead and Christian Kelly from Tauranga Boys' College and Rangiuru's Elija Nicholas, who is in his first year out of school.
Curtis van der Heijden, Matty Axtens, David Fraser and Te Ahe Toma were other promising young players to impress up against the world series champions.
The NZ Women's team also continued their preparation at Blake Park with both teams flying out to Moscow for the Rugby World Cup Sevens this weekend.