Rugby sevens: Christie called up to replace O'Donnell

New Zealand's Declan O'Donnell has been a standout player in this year. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Tasman's Shane Christie will make his New Zealand sevens rugby debut after being called into the squad for the final two world series tournaments in London and Edinburgh.

Christie replaces one of the team's stars this year, Declan O'Donnell, who has been ruled out because of a hamstring injury.

New Zealand have won four of the six tournaments this season, winning the last two tournaments in Hong Kong and Adelaide, to head the table on 134 points - 13 ahead of England, but Tietjens was still wary of slipping up.

"It is great to be going into these final two tournaments in the lead, but we know that any of the top five teams can win these tournaments so we can't be complacent.

"England is still a real threat to us and we will need to perform at the top of our game to secure the series title," Tietjens said.

The London tournament at Twickenham takes place from May 21-22 while the final leg is at Edinburgh from May 28-29.

Team: DJ Forbes (captain), Toby Arnold, Tomasi Cama, Scott Curry, Frank Halai, Bryce Heem, Solomon King, Tim Mikkelson, Buxton Popoalii, Lote Raikabula, David Raikuna, Shane Christie.

- NZPA