IRB Sevens- Vito back as NZ name their team for Dubai

New Zealand Sevens Coach Gordon Tietjens today named his 12-man squad which will contest the fifth Rugby World Cup (RWC) Sevens tournament in Dubai next month.

The squad features 10 members of the current national Sevens squad, Taranaki’s Ben Souness who joined the squad prior to the San Diego tournament, and Victor Vito from the Rebel Sport Super 14 Hurricanes team. Vito last played for the New Zealand team during the 2007-2008 IRB World Sevens Series.

Tietjens said preparations for the RWC Sevens tournament had been hampered by a plague of injuries to his squad including at the RWC Sevens training camp. Chiefs player Sosene Anesi was ruled out as a result of an existing hamstring injury which he was not able to overcome, while Southland’s Willie Rickards and North Harbour’s Nafi Tuitavake also missed all or part of the training camp with hamstring and ankle injuries respectively and were not considered for selection.

“We have had a bad run right up to and during our training camp when we lost three more players to injury. So I’m hoping our injury run is over,” said Tietjens. “That said, we are now focusing solely on the Rugby World Cup and believe that if we can perform to our best and avoid any more major injury setbacks we can match any of the other teams on the day.”

The New Zealand Sevens men’s squad features a mix of experience and new Sevens talent, many of whom have also been in the thick of the close competition that has highlighted the opening rounds of the 2008-2009 IRB Sevens World Series. “This year has been one of the most competitive I have seen,” said Tietjens. “I have said for a number of years that on any given day any one of the top teams can win these Tournaments and this year has highlighted that, so the World Cup is going to be a close-run thing.”

Two of the squad members – Lote Raikabula and Nigel Hunt – were in the New Zealand team which claimed the Sevens gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. DJ Forbes will again lead the team after recovering from a leg injury which had ruled him out of the San Diego tournament. Forbes was the New Zealand captain for the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 IRB World Sevens Series and was also named IRB and New Zealand Sevens player of the year in 2008. The 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens will be held at the purpose-built The Sevens stadium in Dubai from March 5-7.

The New Zealand Sevens RWC squad is: Tomasi Cama (Manawatu), DJ Forbes (Captain, Counties Manukau), Paul Grant (Otago), Nigel Hunt (Bay of Plenty), Zar Lawrence (Bay of Plenty), Tim Nanai Williams (Counties Manukau), Lote Raikabula (Manawatu), Ben Souness (Taranaki), Chad Tuoro (Counties Manukau), Tu Umaga Marshall (Wellington), Victor Vito (Wellington), Viliame Waqaseduadua (North Harbour).