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Sport | All Blacks

Serving up a footy feast in Hamilton

Hamilton's Garden Place was all a-sizzle today as members of the NZ sevens teams served locals breakfast ahead of this weekend's World Series leg at FMG Stadium.

All Black Sevens player Dylan Collier was surprised by the turn out.

"We thought- BBQ at 9 o'clock in the morning...there won't be much people," he says.  However, the number of hungry Hamiltonians quickly grew.

"I think we nearly sold out of buns and eggs and stuff, so it's been awesome."

#Hākinakina Kī pai ana te puku o Kirikiriroa i te ata nei, kī pai anō hoki te puku o ngā apataki whutuporo i ngā kai namunamuā o ngā kapa whutupō takiwhitu Ōpango, Mamaku anō hoki. Hamilton’s Garden Place was full with people this morning, and they were filled with a bbq breakfast, served by members of the All Blacks and Black Ferns 7’s teams ahead of this weekend Sevens Series event in the City.

Posted by Te Ao Māori News on Monday, January 21, 2019

The All Blacks and Black Ferns sevens teams will both be playing in this year's edition of the New Zealand leg of the World Series.

The men's team are aiming to win their tenth NZ title and their first in the Waikato.  Meanwhile, the Black Ferns Sevens will be playing at home for the first in the Fast Four tournament.

New Black Fern Sevens player Jazmin Hotham, who is unavailable for this weekend through injury, says the team is excited about playing at home.

"They want this. They're so excited to play in front of their home, their whānau their friends- It's incredible."

On the other end of the spectrum, the All Black Sevens have been playing in New Zealand since 2000 and the world champions are looking forward to playing in front of another home crowd again this weekend.

"They always give you that lift.  When you think you're down and out they give you that little bit of extra push over the line [to] get the win or make a tackle," Collier says.

After serving hundreds of bacon and egg buns for breakfast on Tuesday both teams are hoping that it won't be just the bbq that sizzles this week in Hamilton.

Collier says the All Black Sevens team are "looking to play with a lot of speed, I think we've got a pretty good pool to start off with".

They face Japan, Canada and Spain in pool play on Saturday, with finals beginning on Sunday.

The Black Ferns Sevens will play England, France and China in the Fast Four tournament.