Black Ferns Sevens celebrate at the Paris Olympics. Photo: photosport
New Zealand Rugby will begin it's latest search for future Sevens stars with a fourth edition of the Ignite7 tournament at Blake Park in Tauranga in November.
Forty-eight young athletes will be selected to fill each of the four men's and four women's squads for a two-day tournament designed to unearth players.
Renee Holmes. Photo: www.photosport.nz
The full squads to be announced within the next fortnight.
The tournament, which is free to watch, will also feature the Black Ferns and All Blacks Sevens teams as they warm up for the upcoming World SVNS Series with matches against Australia and Fiji.
Japan's women's team will also be in attendance.
New Zealand Rugby's Mike Anthony said the Ignite7 format had proven its worth in the past.
"The numbers of players who have progressed through Ignite7 shows the value of the programme and we know that there is some talent that will emerge through our pathways in the next two years," Anthony said.
"This tournament week represents a massive opportunity for young players to showcase their talent and to rub shoulders with our current Black Ferns and All Blacks Sevens players and coaches. It's an important step in our high performance sevens pathway."
Melbourne Storm NRL player William Warbrick was a standout from the inaugural tournament and went on to represent the All Blacks Sevens at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Current Black Ferns fullback Renee Holmes and recent All Black halfback Kyle Preston are among the 2019 Ignite alumni, while the 2020 class included teenagers Caleb Tangitau, Fehi Fineanganofo, Jazmin Felix-Hotham, Mahina Paul and Manaia Nuku who all progressed through to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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