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Source: 1 News
Ruby Tui will have some familiar faces by her side at this year’s Premier Rugby Sevens tournament in the US, with New Zealand Rugby confirming today that several Black Ferns Sevens players will take part in the tournament.
NZR said Stacey Waaka, Manaia Nuku, Tysha Ikenasio and Kelsey Teneti will join All Blacks Sevens players Rhodes Featherston and Kitiona Vai to take part in the US competition this year.
The additions come after Tui made headlines earlier this month with her new NZR deal which included a sabbatical playing in the Premier Rugby Sevens.
While Tui is yet to confirm which team she will play for in the US, Waaka and Nuku will play for the New York Locals while Ikenasio and Teneti will take the field for the women’s Texas team.
Unlike Tui though, the new Kiwi signings will only take part in three tournaments within the Eastern Conference before returning to New Zealand to commence pre-season training on August 8.
“We are wanting to provide all our contracted players with game time in the lead up to the Olympics and this provides an exciting opportunity for four of our talents group to play alongside some quality opposition,” Black Ferns Sevens head coach Cory Sweeney said.
“Game time can be hard to come by outside of the Sevens World Series, so our players are excited by the chance to have sevens game time.”
Meanwhile, Featherstone will play for the men’s Texas Team and Vai will join the Southern Headliners.
All Blacks Sevens head coach Clark Laidlaw was just as excited aboutthe opportunity for his players.
“This is a great chance for Rhodes and Vai to get some further game time under their belt. Rhodes is a talented player, and we all witnessed his craft on the world stage in Hong Kong. While Kiti has plenty of X-factor and this is a chance for him to further develop his game,” Laidlaw said.
“We know they will embrace the opportunity and enjoy the challenge of a new sevens campaign. We look forward to seeing them when they get back for pre-season training.”
The Premier Rugby Sevens – a competition launched in 2021 which has quickly expanded to 16 teams since – were equally delighted to be adding more Kiwi talent to their pool.
“We are always looking for the best talent in the world to compete on the PR7s stage here in America,” said Mike Tolkin, General Manager of Premier Rugby Sevens.
“Stacey, Manaia, Tysha, Kelsey, Kitiona, and Rhodes are joining an incredible talent pool of Americans, Canadians, and other top athletes from around the world. It’s an exciting time to be part of the league as we grow the sport of sevens in the US and beyond.”
