Fitness not an issue for Tasman teams at national sevens tournament

The Turf Hotel Tasman men's and women's teams will be taking their fittest ever squads north when they contest this weekend's Bayley's national sevens tournament in Rotorua.

Assistant coach and technical advisor for both the men's and women's teams, Gary Stevens, said that both squads had been working extremely hard on their fitness and that the injury concerns that robbed Tasman of Viliami Lolohea's pace and power for the semifinal and final at the Southern regional tournament in Timaru last November were no longer an issue. The Tasman Makos winger suffered a hamstring injury prior to their 38-12 semifinal win over Mid Canterbury, with Tasman suffering a dramatic 29-27 overtime loss to Otago in the final.

The Tasman men's team contested a subsequent triangular tournament against Canterbury and Wellington in Picton and despite Tasman winning only one of their four matches, Stevens said that it had been an invaluable exercise in terms of generating the kind of competition required to compete on the big stage. He said that the Picton tournament looks set to become a regular event, with six teams apparently signed up for next year.

The Tasman men's team, coached by Sam Gibbens, is the strongest available, with captain Jesse Pitman and Te Puoho Stephens among those to have impressed during the team's two-tournament buildup. 

However, Tasman face a demanding pool in Rotorua where they'll meet Manawatu (10.05am), Waikato (1.05pm) and Canterbury (4.15pm) on Saturday to determine Sunday's top and bottom-eight rankings. The Manawatu and Canterbury games will both be televised.

The Shawn Begg-coached Tasman women's team plays four games on Saturday, beginning with Manawatu (10.25am) and Wairarapa-Bush (11.45am), followed by afternoon clashes with Canterbury (1.45pm) and Auckland (3.55pm). The Canterbury and Auckland games will be televised.

Tasman will have the services of loan player, Bay of Plenty's Hana Tapiata, throughout the tournament who, along with Tasman's Jess Drummond, Fern Hoskin and Ella Marwick, was selected for a national sevens development camp in Taupo late last year.

TASMAN MEN: Sione Holani, Tone Ng Shiu, Steve Soper, Angus Gibbons, Te Puoho Stephens, Iliesa Ravudra, Viliami Lolohea, Andrew Knewstubb, Jesse Pitman (captain), Jackson Harvey, Tima Faingaanuku, Christian Kelly; coach: Sam Gibbens.

TASMAN WOMEN: Amanda Sim, Stephani Mitchell, Hana Tapiata, Fern Hoskin, Jessica Foster, Hannah Kelly, Jess Drummond (captain), Ella Marwick, Sydnee Wilkins, Amelia Hammett, Dana Wilson, Montana Heslop; coach: Shawn Begg.