Bay players stay in sevens squad

Mitre 10 Cup Bay of Plenty v Otago. Regan Ware 4 September 2016 Bay of Plenty Times Photograph by George Novak. BTG 05Sep16 - BTG 08Sep16 - TOP CLASS: Steamers winger Regan W

Bay of Plenty's Scott Curry will once again captain the All Blacks Sevens in the fourth leg of 2016/17 HSBC World Series in Sydney this weekend.

Fellow Bay of Plenty player Regan Ware also retains his place in the squad following last weekend's Wellington tournament.

Tasman duo Trael Joass and Andrew Knewstubb will get their starting caps in Sydney, while Isaac Te Tamaki and Tone Ng Shiu will be the travelling reserves.

"We are excited to give Trael and Andrew an opportunity to play this weekend and take the form they showed at the National Sevens and apply that at an international level," said All Blacks Sevens head coach Scott Waldrom.

"We learned a lot from Wellington and continue to work on what's required to win in what has become a very tough World Series.

"Last weekend's Fiji quarter-final showed us that if you make a few mistakes you will be punished by the opposition and we can't afford that this weekend with another tough pool.

"Playing Australia first up in front of their home crowd is going to be a big challenge for the team, and then to face a very consistent Scotland team at the end of the day means we need to be at our best for all games if we want to make it through to the Cup competition."

Team: Scott Curry - Captain (Bay of Plenty), Dylan Collier (Southland), DJ Forbes (Counties Manukau), Iopu Iopu-Aso (Taranaki), Trael Joass (Tasman), Rocky Khan (Auckland), Andrew Knewstubb (Tasman), Vilimoni Koroi (Otago), Tim Mikkelson (Waikato), Sione Molia (Counties Manukau), Sherwin Stowers (Counties Manukau), Regan Ware (Bay of Plenty). Travelling reserves: Isaac Te Tamaki (Waikato), Tone Ng Shiu (Tasman).
The All Blacks Sevens play Australia today at 1.42pm, with further pool games against Papua New Guinea (5.37pm) and Scotland (10.57pm). All New Zealand times.