Long wait for Camburn finally over

Plucking rugby players from relative obscurity and throwing them into the limelight has always been a trait of Gordon Tietjens' sevens regime.

Each year after the Super 12 franchises have picked their way through his squad, Tietjens promotes another previously unknown player into the international arena.

Add to that list North Harbour's Marc Camburn.

The 1.83m, 95kg centre has been a stalwart of the North Harbour sevens scene for six years, but he finally received his New Zealand jersey when the third tournament in the International Rugby Board (IRB) series tournament started here today.

"It's been a long time waiting. I've served my apprenticeship with North Harbour and now I'm ready to move onto bigger things," Camburn told NZPA yesterday.

At 28 -- the oldest member of Tietjens 12-man squad to gallop around Westpac Stadium in front of 30,000 fans this weekend -- Camburn has also bucked the recent trend of schoolboys being the newcomers in the sevens squad.

The Auckland primary school teacher has already had big rap from the veteran coach when he likened Camburn to Craig de Goldi -- a former sevens workhorse and one of the most consistent and solid players to represent New Zealand.

"I haven't really compared myself to any other players," said Camburn who has captained the North Harbour sevens team for the past two seasons.

"I did hear something like that the other day and it was a surprise. If that's the way Tietjens thinks of me, I'm pretty happy because de Goldi was a very committed player."

Camburn nearly made the national sevens squad after making the trials four years ago, "but after coming close on three occasions and missing the cut, you start thinking if it's worth pushing ahead.

"Last year I probably wasn't as fit as I could have been but Eric Rush told me I was pretty close.

"This year I made a real effort on my fitness. For North Harbour we lost experienced players in Matua Parkinson and Craig Newby -- guys who have played sevens for New Zealand, so I took it upon myself to take over in that role and make an impact, so I guess that could have helped my selection this year."

Besides recently spending a season in France, Camburn has been a regular in the North Harbour second 15, but an NPC match still alludes him.

While former players such as Newby have used sevens as a bridge into the Super 12 and the All Blacks, Camburn is content at this stage just to focus on his long awaited rise to the top sevens side.

"After so many attempts, finally making the team has been a relief, and debuting in Wellington in front of family and friends -- you can't beat that sort of thing."

Camburn is one of five debutants in the squad who are aiming for their third consecutive win in Wellington, while a victory will also stretch New Zealand ahead of Fiji and England whom they currently share first place with in the IRB sevens series.

The hosts kick the two-day rugby festival off against Kenya at 3.12pm today.

Later they play the United States, before their final pool match against Fiji.

Whether New Zealand completes their hat-trick of Wellington titles before heading to Los Angeles for the fourth leg next week, Camburn is certain of one thing: "Once you get to this level you never want to fade away.

"You want to make an impact and sees what comes from that.

"At the moment I'm just focusing on the first game and playing my best."

- NZPA