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Two local players from Wesley College have been selected in the black jersey at the Global Youth Sevens in Auckland.

The New Zealand Under 18 boys and girls sevens teams have been selected following the culmination of regional and national secondary school sevens tournaments.

Wesley College representative Joey Taumateine was named in the boys team while schoolmate Sariyah Paitai was named in the girls team.

A proven pathway to the international stage, Codemeru Vai and Xavier Tito-Harris were members of the 2022 squad and have both gone on to debut for the All Blacks Sevens this year.

New Zealand Rugby Sevens Pathways Manager Dan Goodwin said the selection process has taken several months with selectors looking at athletes in school, club and provincial competitions.

“The players selected have shown the character and skills we want to promote in our All Blacks Sevens and Black Ferns Sevens teams. We know they will show the integrity and mana of the black jersey in the tournament next week.

“This group of athletes are a credit to themselves, their whānau, schools, clubs, provinces and have an amazing opportunity to showcase their talents.”