Sevens: Clutterbuck a positive impact on Kiwis

Former Northlander Matt Clutterbuck (fifth from right) made his debut for the All Blacks Sevens team over the weekend with the Kiwi team finishing fifth overall. PHOTO/IRB/MARTIN SERAS LIMA

Former Taniwha Matt Clutterbuck didn't embarrass himself in making his debut for the All Blacks Sevens team at the HSBC Gold Coast Sevens tournament, even scoring a try in one game.

Wearing the number seven jersey, Clutterbuck was a regular substitute who would enter the fold in the second half - getting a good portion of minutes over the tournament.

The former Broadwood resident, who now lives in the Bay of Plenty, scored his first try for the All Blacks Sevens team against Japan during pool play in the tournament over the weekend.

The tournament had extra meaning for Clutterbuck, and his world champion teammates, as the event also marked the start of qualifying for the Olympics - with the event being the first round of the IRB Sevens World Series.

New Zealand ended up winning the plate final, essentially meaning they finished in fifth place.

Northland sevens manager Kyal Collins said he saw Clutterbuck on the field but hadn't followed his progress over the weekend.

He added while Clutterbuck was from the region, Northland had not approached him as he seemed to have his life set out of Bay of Plenty at the moment.

Meanwhile in Northland's club rugby sevens tournament played on Saturday, the Auckland's St Kents team won top honours by beating Mid Northern 31-27 in the championship final.

In the cup final, another visiting team in the form of Fraser Tech from Hamilton beat out the Western Sharks 30-14.

Mid Northern's second team had a similar fate to their top one, losing in the plate final 17-12 to Kerikeri. Moerewa's second team won 10-5 over Hikurangi in the bowl final.

Collins felt the inclusion of Auckland teams into the local sevens competition meant a higher level of play across the board.

"It gives us some different players to play against," he said.