Gregory and Koroi return for London Sevens
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Scott Gregory and Vilimoni Koroi return from injury to bolster the travelling squad, while Sam Dickson, Trael Joass and Niko Jones are currently sidelined.
A six week break since the last tournament has seen the All Blacks Sevens squad have a chance to refresh.
“It’s felt like a mini pre season in a way. We had a couple of weeks away from each other and everyone came back quite excited. We have had a look at our game and reflected where we are at and there is a desire to finish the season with quality performances,” said Laidlaw.
At the past two tournaments the All Blacks Sevens suffered quarterfinal defeats, but Laidlaw said that’s no reason to panic.
“You need a huge amount of perspective when you lose. There are a couple of areas of the game we want to improve but at the same time there are a lot of things that have been going really well.”
The All Blacks Sevens currently sit third on the World Series standings and need to finish in the top four to confirm Olympic Qualification.
“The quicker we can get that done and qualify the better. The focus is on London, we need to play really well next week because we are coming up against teams that have a lot to play for.”
Drawn in Pool C, the All Blacks Sevens will face England, Scotland and Ireland on Day One.
Scott Curry - Bay of Plenty
Kurt Baker - Manawatu
Dylan Collier - Waikato
Scott Gregory - Northland
Andrew Knewstubb - Horowhenua Kapiti
Vilimoni Koroi - Otago
Tim Mikkelson - Waikato
Sione Molia - Counties Manukau
Jona Nareki - Otago
Tone Ng Shiu - Tasman
Joseva Rovouvou - Auckland
Regan Ware - Taranaki
Joe Webber - Bay of Plenty