It's Wellington Sevens week, and as the capital gets into party mode, there's a player in town causing a stir in his own right.
US sevens player Carlin Isles, 23, has been dubbed rugby's fastest man.
He became a YouTube sensation because of his speedy skills, and has an official 100m personal best of 10.24 seconds - just 0.66s behind Usain Bolt.
“I’ll be a marked man so I’ve been learning other tactics to use to get me out of situations,” Isles says.
But New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens is not letting on whether his team has any special tricks for when they play against the speedster.
“We'll have to wait for the last game tomorrow night. But it's going to be a big occasion no doubt.”
His 100m time would have got him a semi-final spot at the London Olympics, but as the 36th fastest man in the US, he didn't qualify.
“It's hard being a sprinter in America,” he says.
So Isles turned his attention to rugby Sevens, his gateway to the Rio Olympics.
He is open to the idea of becoming a New Zealand citizen so he could represent us in running at the Olympics.
“You know what, you know what, I like that, I think I might do that.”
But for now he'll be lining up against us.
3 News
source: newshub archive
