Northland Rugby Sevens is on the move this weekend in an effort to synchronise its playing calendar with the rest of the country. They have moved their annual tournament from its previous February date back to tomorrow at Old Boys to help Northland selectors pick their team to compete at thenational sevens tournament in Queenstown in the second week of January. Northland Sevens selector JT Thomas said while moving the tournament forward may be a challenge for many players who have yet to think about the rugby season - it's something players and clubs will adjust to. "Most clubs have used sevens in the past as a pre-season warm-up for club rugby but that doesn't really work for Northland, not as a build-up for the nationals, which are held at the beginning of January," he said. "We believe this is going to work for us, purely because we want to get our boys playing tournaments in the run up to the nationals. "A lot of the other provincial unions have done the same thing - and hopefully I'll be able to spot some more talent that I haven't seen before the rep season." Thomas and his fellow organisers aren't messing around - they're planning to select a squad and have them at their first training session on Tuesday evening. "We've really got to hit the ground running, originally we wanted to have the tournament even earlier just to get the momentum building but tomorrow we'll pick a side to start training with." Thomas is expecting teething problems in the initial seasons, especially making players aware about the competition. "It's been a little difficult and there have been a few teething problems in the first year. I know a couple of teams are struggling for numbers but we've got about 10 teams confirmed so far," he said.
Competition starts at Old Boys at 10am and anyone interested in trying out for the team is welcome.
