Highlander and All Black wing Hosea Gear has been selected to play for New Zealand in the Hertz Sevens, round four of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Wellington.
New Zealand Sevens Coach Gordon Tietjens has also named two new caps in his New Zealand Sevens side.
Wellington’s 18-year-old Ardie Savea, the younger brother of Hurricane and former New Zealand Sevens player Julian Savea, will make his New Zealand Sevens debut in his home town.
Hawke’s Bay’s Mark Jackman will also don the New Zealand jersey for the first time. Jackman hails from Canterbury and is a product of the Christchurch Boys High School rugby fraternity.
Tietjens said picking the side was challenging.
“All the players have really stepped it up a notch in the past few days and trained really well making this a very difficult team to pick.
“We love the support we get here in Wellington and this tournament is always one of the highlights on the HSBC Sevens World Series but this also makes it one of the toughest to win,” he said.
New Zealand Sevens Squad:
Toby Arnold, Bay of Plenty
Tomasi Cama, Manawatu
DJ Forbes, Counties Manukau
Hosea Gear, Wellington
Frank Halai, Waikato
Bryce Heem, Auckland
Mark Jackman, Hawke’s Bay
Solomon King, North Harbour
Tim Mikkelson, Waikato
Charles Piutau, Auckland
Lote Raikabula, Wellington
Ardie Savea, Wellington
