News

The New Zealand Women’s Sevens team to play the second tournament of the 2015/16 Women’s Sevens Series in Sao Paulo on 20 and 21 February has been named.

The team is;

Michaela Blyde (Taranaki)
Kelly Brazier (Bay of Plenty)
Gayle Broughton (Taranaki)
Sarah Goss (captain) (Manawatu)
Kayla McAlister (Auckland)
Huriana Manuel (Auckland)
Tyla Nathan-Wong (Auckland)
Hazel Tubic (Counties Manukau)
Ruby Tui (Canterbury)
Kat Whata-Simpkins (Wellington)
Niall Williams (Auckland)
Portia Woodman (Counties Manukau)

Honey Hireme (Waikato) and Stacey Waaka (Waikato) will travel with the team as reserves.

Not available due to injury – Carla Hohepa, Lesley Ketu, Shiray Tane, Jordon Webber.

The team departs for a training camp in Florida on Sunday 7 February. The players will also travel to Rio de Janiero to familiarise themselves with the Olympic host city before heading to Sao Paulo.

New Zealand Women’s Sevens finished fifth in the opening tournament of the World Series in Dubai in December. Coach Sean Horan said the team hoped to make amends for the disappointing start to the season.

“Dubai proved you can’t be off your game at any point. The series is getting increasingly competitive so we’ll be looking for quality and consistency in all aspects of our game. This is a really important year for us so we want to do well in Sao Paulo as we head towards Rio.

“We’re looking forward to the training camp in Florida as we’ll be back there in July so this will be a good learning experience for us. We’re also excited to be spending time in Rio as this will help our players understand how the city is shaping up for the Olympic Games and give them a taste of how big this event will be.

“All this will really help our preparations. We’re leaving no stone unturned as we aim to be in the best possible shape come August.”