Te Aute to make All Blacks Sevens debut

PHOTO/FILE

Former Rotorua Boys' High School student Isaac Te Aute is one of three players called into the All Blacks Sevens squad for this weekend's Singapore Sevens as injury replacements.

He has been with the sevens squad since late last year, but this is his first taste of the World Series.

Rotorua Boys' High School first XV manager Bruce Buckton said the call-up was testament to Te Aute's hard work and described him as a "quality kid".

"He's excited and we are excited for him - this is a testament to his development from us and testament to his own development. It shows he has worked hard and he deserves this chance."

Joining Te Aute are Antonio Kiri Kiri and Josh van Leishout.

Pita Ahki (shoulder), Sam Dickson (leg), Tim Mikkelson (ankle), and Lewis Ormond (foot) have been ruled out with injuries while DJ Forbes is also returning to New Zealand.

Another Rotorua Boys' High old boy, Liam Messam, will captain the side this weekend.

Messam takes over the leadership following an injury to Tim Mikkelson in Hong Kong and the decision to rest Forbes.

Forbes' return is part of his long term conditioning plan to ensure he is in the best possible shape to be in contention for the New Zealand Olympic sevens team. At Hong Kong he equalled the World Series record for tournament appearances of 79.

The All Blacks Sevens took second place at Hong Kong after losing to Fiji in the final. New Zealand has been drawn in Pool B for the Singapore Sevens and will play USA, France and Canada.

The team remains second in the series, one point ahead of South Africa and five points behind leaders, Fiji, with three tournaments left in the season; Singapore, Paris and London.

Singapore Sevens pool match schedule (New Zealand times): Saturday 16 April: NZ v France (2.44pm), NZ v Canada (6.05pm), NZ v USA (9.48pm).