...New Zealand's Olympic Sevens bid has snared Sonny Bill Williams and Liam Messam and is hopeful that Beauden Barrett, Julian Savea, Ben Smith, Victor Vito and Malakai Fekitoa are also going to commit to the abbreviated game.
New Zealand recently secured Olympic qualification and has asked players such as Barrett, Savea, Smith, Vito and Fekitoa to make a commitment, one way or the other, by next month.
The Herald understands that all five are strongly considering saying yes, giving New Zealand an excellent chance of winning gold at the Olympics but massively compromising the fire-power of the All Blacks.
To make the final 12-man Olympic squad, players will have to be involved in at least two Sevens tournaments during next year's Super Rugby and also miss at least the first five, if not seven, All Black tests.
Players who signal their interest in Sevens by June will be able to change their mind at any stage and nor is there any guarantee they will be selected for Rio.
Identified players
Sonny Bill Williams
Has never played Sevens but has the conditioning, physique, skills and attitude to be good at it.
Liam Messam
Has a strong Sevens background and made a name for himself there as a teenager.
Julian Savea
Played for New Zealand Sevens in 2009, appearing in a handful of tournaments. Is deadly in 15s — so could be unstoppable when he's let loose in Sevens.
Beauden Barrett
Was the man Gordon Tietjens most wanted. Barrett has pace, agility, rugby intelligence and a skill-set that allows him to pull off the impossible. Played in a couple of Sevens tournaments in 2010.
Ben Smith
Forced his way into the Commonwealth Games team that won gold in 2010 even though he'd never played Sevens before. Tietjens rated him as one of the best, most natural instinctive footballers he'd seen.
Malakai Fekitoa
Was first spotted in New Zealand playing Sevens for Tonga. Would have made the New Zealand team but wasn't eligible. Has superb conditioning, pace, power and destructive defence.
Victor Vito
Was dubbed the new Jonah Lomu after he was the star of the Wellington Sevens in 2008 and has popped up in the abbreviated game every now and again. Has the size and pace to be the sort of player no one will enjoy defending.
NZHerald
