The Waikato Men's and Women’s Sevens teams have been announced for this weekend's Northern Regional Sevens at Campbell Park in Morrinsville - the first time it has been hosted in the Waikato since 2019.

A busy day is lined up on Saturday where both sides will play three pool matches, before play-offs in the afternoon.

The Waikato Men’s team has announced a youthful side that will be captained by the very experienced Luke Masirewa. Senita Luaki is the only player in the squad backing up from his strong NPC campaign.

The Waikato Women’s team has also named a youthful squad for the 2024 campaign. A totally fresh side to our Championship winning Farah Palmer Cup side where no players will back up in the 7s colours. 2023 Morrinsville Sports newcomers Abbey & Ella Wilton return in 2024 and will look to build from their experiences in last years side. Former Hamilton Girls High Schooler Rubi Hart makes her first appearance in Waikato colours and will look to maintain her form into Saturdays matches.

The tournament will feature eight mens teams, including a Northern Regions Barbarians side, and six sides in the Women's competition. Nothland, North Harbour and Counties will make the trip south down State Highway 1, while our Heartland neighbours Thames Valley and King Country will venture across to Morrinsville with Taranaki making the trip north rounding out the participating provincial unions. 

Action kicks off Saturday morning from 10am at Campbell Park in Morrinsville. Our Women's side gets the day underway with their first match at 10am on Field two squaring off against Thames Valley, while two further matches await at 11am vs Counties and 12noon vs Taranaki. Our men kick off there day vs Counties at 10.40am before matches vs Northern Regions Barbarians at 11.40am and Thames Valley at 12.40pm. Following that, teams will play in their respecitve play-off matches from 2pm. 

Article added: Thursday 21 November 2024