Otago loose forward Paul Grant says he is the fittest he has ever been but will find out in the two days if he is fit enough.
Grant (21) will play for the New Zealand Sevens team in Wellington over the next two days, as the home side defends the title it won last year, beating Samoa in the final.
Grant, a South Otago product, has played for New Zealand in the Dubai and George, South Africa, legs of the IRB world series late last year, and is enjoying being under the tutelage of master sevens coach Gordon Tietjens.
"He trains you really hard and we do a lot of work. But he can have a laugh with you off the field," Grant said.
"The guys have been working and training pretty well over the last few days and we've had a couple of practice games against Hong Kong and the United States."
He said the New Zealand side had come together well, and he was keen to experience the Wellington Sevens for the first time.
The team had added incentive to do well as it was the side's home tournament.
Grant had been mainly used as a substitute in the Dubai tournament, but had got more starts in the George tournament.
"Because it is a short game, when you do come on off the bench, a lot of the other guys are tired, while you are fresh. But you have got to get yourself straight into the game.
"In sevens there are fewer people on the field so there is more time with the ball and more one-on-one stuff. But you have to be aware the whole time."
Grant said fitness work involved a lot of running up and down the field and speed and endurance, and he felt as fit as he has ever been.
"But I'm going to need it. The guys have said there'll be a lot of running in the next couple of days."
Grant had a disrupted national sevens tournament in Queenstown for Otago, forced to miss the first day because of a 24-hour bug, but he said he was well over that now.
The New Zealand team plays three pool games today, kicking off against Wales at 3.12pm, Niue at 6.08pm, and Australia at 9.56pm, in the last game of the day.
Two Otago players, Carla Hohepa and Kelly Brazier, have been named in a training squad of 22 to prepare for the Women's Rugby World Cup sevens tournament in Dubai.
The squad will be trimmed to 17 at the conclusion of a Rotorua training camp this weekend, and 12 players will be picked for the tournament, which takes place on March 5-7.
