Ten newcomers have been included in the New Zealand Maori squad for the Churchill Cup rugby tournament in England.
The newcomers are Otago's Keith Cameron and Glen Horton, Aled de Malmanche, Craig West and Dwayne Sweeney, of Waikato, Southlander Jason Kawau, Ben May, of Tasman, Canterbury's Isaac Ross,Manawatu's Hayden Triggs and Wellington's Hoani Tui.
The team will be captained by Rua Tipoki.
Coach Donny Stevenson today described his squad as well balanced with a good mix of experienced players and newcomers.
"This is the beauty of this team; we are able to give young players the opportunity to play international rugby."
"A couple of the new players came to our attention during last year's Air New Zealand Cup, which highlights the importance and value of this domestic competition," Stevenson said.
The Churchill Cup tournament has previously been held in north America.
"There is an air of excitement about the change of venue," Stevenson said.
"This is new territory for us but that is the exciting challenge. We hope that the strong expat Kiwi community in the UK will come out and support us."
It will be the first time since 1998 that New Zealand Maori will play in Britain.
Their first match is against Canada at Northampton on May 25.
Squad:
Callum Bruce (Otago), Keith Cameron (Otago), Aled de Malmanche (Waikato), Tamati Ellison (Wellington), Hosea Gear (Wellington), Brendan Haami (Taranaki), Glen Horton (Otago), Jason Kawau (Southland), Tanerau Latimer (Bay of Plenty), Angus Macdonald (Auckland), Luke Mahoney (Wellington), Ben May (Tasman), Liam Messam (Waikato), Kristian Ormsby (Counties-Manukau), Shannon Paku (Wellington), Isaac Ross (Canterbury), Chris Smylie (Otago), Warren Smith (Bay of Plenty), Dwayne Sweeney (Waikato), Anthony Tahana (Bay of Plenty), Pehi Te Whare (Southland), Hayden Triggs (Manawatu), Rua Tipoki (captain, Canterbury), Hoani Tui (Wellington), Scott Waldrom (Taranaki), Craig West (Waikato).
