Rugby: Tietjens names preliminary squad for Wellington sevens

Gordon Tietjens. Photo / NZME.

New Zealand sevens coach Gordon Tietjens has a habit of picking players to debut at the Wellington leg of the international series and this year could be no different.

Tietjens has named a preliminary 16-man squad for the Wellington (February 6-7) and Las Vegas (February 13-15) tournaments, which includes four potential debutants.

Waikato utility back Dylan Collier, Otago wing Josh Gordon, Rieko Ioane, brother of former New Zealand sevens player Akira Ioane, and Taranaki 2014 ITM Cup squad member Beaudein Waaka have all been included.

"I have kept a close eye on these young players for some time," Tietjens said. "They were certainly stand-outs at the National Sevens in Rotorua so it's great to be able to include them in the squad for the first time.

"I am sure they will be going all out to earn selection for Wellington and Las Vegas."

After three legs of the Sevens World Series, New Zealand are in third behind Fiji and leaders South Africa. They must finish in the top four in the series to earn automatic qualification for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro next year.

"We are very much looking forward to Wellington as the city really turns it on for all the teams. It's always very special to play in front of a home crowd as we only play in New Zealand once a year," Tietjens said.

"This is also an important tournament for us given our current position in the series. We won here last year so we will be working hard to do our best in front of our fans."

New Zealand sevens squad: Tomasi Cama, Dylan Collier, Scott Curry, Ambrose Curtis, Sam Dickson, DJ Forbes, Jack Goodhue, Josh Gordon, Rieko Ioane, Gillies Kaka, Tim Mikkelson, Lote Raikabula, Sherwin Stowers, Murphy Taramai, Beaudein Waaka, Joe Webbe