There are just six available spots left in the All Blacks Sevens squad for the Rio Olympics with coach Sir Gordon Tietjens telling Newshub he has the majority of his team locked in.
"I could probably lock-in eight, so it's going to be close," Tietjens said from the team's training camp in Mount Maunganui where 16 hopefuls are preparing for the final two World Series tournaments in Paris and London.
Blues brothers Akira and Reiko Ioane have re-joined the squad after their Super Rugby stint, and Tietjens has been impressed with the way they've come back to Sevens.
"And they've come in here with a real drive to make this team to go to the Olympics, and that's what they're here for, and that's why they've sacrificed playing Super Rugby."
But Tietjens wouldn't guarantee that their gamble will end with Olympic selection.
"They've got to get out and perform and, of course, you need to be training sevens and playing sevens, and that’s why they're here now."
Injured players Sam Dickson and Joe Webber are still in the mix for the Rio Olympics in August, but won't feature in the final two tournaments.
The All Blacks Sevens will take twelve players to the Olympics with two travelling reserves.
Newshub.
