Australian sevens coach Michael O’Connor has named two debutants in making four changes to his 12-man squad for this weekend’s Wellington leg of the IRB World Series.
O’Connor has boosted his young squad with experienced duo Ed Stubbs and Daniel Yakopo returning from injury while uncapped youngsters Thomas English and Cameron Clark have been called up.
The quartet replace Bill Meakes, Danny Routledge, Jo Lalagavesi and Will Miller from the squad which made the quarter-finals in South Africa in December.
Australia are currently sixth on the world series standings on 39 points – 12 in arrears of joint leaders New Zealand and Fiji.
They have drawn fifth-ranked France, Canada and Kenya in their pool for Friday’s matches where a minimum two wins will earn them a tough quarter-final clash with either the Kiwis or Samoa.
“With the team we’ve got I’m expecting us to be in the mix on the final day and really challenging for a spot in the cup final,” O’Connor said.
All Blacks winger and Wellington crowd favourite Hosea Gear is a high-profile inclusion in a New Zealand outfit hungry to defend their home title.