Teddy Stanaway, in action for Bay of Plenty at the nationals, is a key player for the All Blacks Sevens in Sydney. Photo / File
Teddy Stanaway, in action for Bay of Plenty at the nationals, is a key player for the All Blacks Sevens in Sydney. Photo / File
New Zealand teams are confident of success in the Sydney leg of the HSBC World Series that gets under way today.
With strong Bay of Plenty connections on and off the field, both the All Blacks Sevens and Black Ferns have been training in blistering hot conditions in Sydney ahead of the weekend's action.
The All Blacks Sevens, co-captained by Papamoa resident Scott Curry, lead the men's division after the Dubai and Cape Town legs on 41 points, ahead of South Africa (39) and Fiji (28).
The Black Ferns, under head coach Allan Bunting from Rotorua, got off to a slow start in the opening leg in Dubai, finishing fifth with Australia leading and USA second.
Bunting said his squad endured a few tough days training in extreme heat this week.
"We had a really good skills day then a tough day the next day in the heat and then a triple day, which was good for us to get out there for the whole day and really test the players," he said.
The Black Ferns had a hit out against the Sydney Rays earlier this week which, Bunting said, was an opportunity to break the normal pattern up and help finalise his final 12 for this weekend.
"Usually on our triple day, we play ourselves so we are pretty good at playing ourselves. We know each other inside out so it was good to get something foreign in, something we didn't know.
"They are a good team over here but for us to put up a team and potential combinations we could play, this was our last chance to sort out our final 12. That is something we are going to look to do more often."
Bay of Plenty's Michaela Blyde is a key attacking threat for the Black Ferns. Photo / File
Bunting admitted it was one of the hardest teams he has had to select.
"It was really difficult. Players who have missed out are doing really well but it is a good place for us to be in, especially heading into the Commonwealth Games. The 14 that we have here are really important for that and the ones who are back home and missed out also.
"Hopefully we are not looking at the end result. We are actually going game by game. To win Sydney is going to be a tough one but it is going to be a great tournament with a huge crowd. We are alongside the men and, with the heat, it is going to be quite similar to the Commonwealth Games and we really want to do well here."
Meanwhile, the All Blacks Sevens team is set for a tough challenge in pool play against Russia, Gordon Tietjens-coached Samoa and Fiji.
Counties Manukau's Etene Nanai-Seturo is set to make his debut, while Bay of Plenty's Luke Masirewa returns after last appearing in the sevens series in 2013. Caleb Clarke, 18, has been named as the 13th man and will be brought into the playing 12 if required as injury cover.
Reporoa-raised Curry said there will be some adjustment to the changed format for the men, with one game tonight, two tomorrowand three on Sunday.
"We are traditionally used to playing three games a day. It is similar to Hong Kong where we do the same," he said.
After a poor return for the All Blacks Sevens in 2017, the start of the new world series has given the whole group a major boost.
"We are pretty happy with how we played in Cape Town. We still have areas of our game where we think we can improve on so for us the focus is on improving as individuals and as a group," Curry said.
"We can definitely get better when it comes to our culture and all that off the field has been going really well and has been driving our results."
Black Ferns 1. Ruby Tui (BOP), 2. Alena Saili 3. Stacey Waaka 4. Niall Williams 5. Sarah Goss — captain 6. Michaela Blyde (BOP) 7. Tyla Nathan-Wong 8. Kelly Brazier (BOP) 9. Gayle Broughton 10. Theresa Fitzpatrick 11. Portia Woodman 12. Tenika Willison. Coach: Allan Bunting (BOP) Black Ferns schedule, Friday, NZ time 1.06pm v Japan, 3.50pm v England, 6.12pm v USA
All Blacks Sevens 1. Scott Curry (BOP) 2. Tim Mikkelson 3. Teddy Stanaway (BOP) 4. Joe Ravouvou 5. Luke Masirewa (BOP) 6. Vilimoni Koroi 7. Sam Dickson 8. Andrew Knewstubb 9. Regan Ware (BOP) 10. Kurt Baker 11. Etene Nanai-Seturo 12. Sione Molia 13. Caleb Clarke. Coach: Clarke Laidlaw. All Blacks Sevens schedule, NZ time Friday: 9.50pm v Russia Saturday: 6.31pm v Samoa, 9.42pm v Fiji Live: SKY Sport Pop Up 1 and 2
