Steamers flyer bursts into NZ sevens squad | Bay of Plenty Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Bay of Plenty

Steamers fullback Toby Arnold has bolted into the New Zealand sevens team after just three weeks in the shortened version of the game, while rising star Sam Cane nearly capped an incredible year.

Cane fell victim to a recently introduced IRB edict which has banned countries on the global sevens circuit fielding players younger than 18. The Reporoa flanker, who broke into the New Zealand Schools team this year, reaches that milestone in January.

But he impressed sevens guru Gordon Tietjens enough at the training camp in Mount Maunganui this week to call for a quick recheck of his birth certificate.

"One of the IRB stipulations is that 17 is too young for these tournaments so he was quite unlucky really," Tietjens, who named his 12-strong squad for tournaments in Dubai and South Africa, said. "If it wasn't for his age, he'd probably be in the side."

Sevens veteran Zar Lawrence has also made the final cut, while Tietjens revealed mercurial Rangataua halfback Ruki Tipuna is possibly only an injury away from making his national debut.

Tipuna, who transferred to Wellington midway through the club season this year, was back in blue and gold on Wednesday night, starring as the Peter Woods-coached Bay sevens side upset the shadow national team in an opposed training game.

Tietjens is now hoping to see the diminutive general at the national championships in January. "If he puts his mind to it and turns up in Queenstown, he'll go really close.

"He looks cut out for sevens - he's a very smart, intelligent footballer who can read two or three phases ahead. He was unlucky last year - he played particularly well in the provincial sevens tournament here but injured his shoulder.

"He was definitely on the radar then and is back on the radar now that he's fit again."

Arnold, meanwhile, joined Wellington's Buxton Popoalii as the new caps in the squad, after only committing to sevens at the end of the Steamers season.

"I'm over the moon - it's all happened pretty quickly," Arnold said. "I can't believe I'm in the 12 but now I'm really looking forward to getting over there. My legs are shot today - I played four-and-a-half games yesterday and hit the wall a bit but managed to come through."

The 22-year-old was outstanding in fitness testing when the extended squad first met in Auckland and did nothing this week to suggest to Tietjens his performance there was an aberration.

"He was probably the best back in a beaten side in our trials yesterday," Tietjens said.

"He breaks the line and is pretty quick and is getting a better understanding of the game every day.

"I think he can really excel. The part of his game that really impressed me was his defence - he's an outstanding tackler and he just doesn't seem to miss them."

Another Steamers player, flanker Solomon King, was unavailable after undergoing shoulder and thumb surgeries during the Air New Zealand Cup season.

He was sideline at the training camp this week, however, with his recovery progress far better than expected and an outside chance he'll be available for the Hong Kong sevens in March.

Tietjens has won eight of the 10 world series contested since 1999. New Zealand have been grouped with World Cup sevens finalists Argentina as well as Portugal and France in Pool D for the opening leg of the series in Dubai on December 4-5.