Thursday, 17th May 2012
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| Mark heading to New Zealand's biggest party |
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By Jonathan Leask February 3, 2012
However, that is something he has learnt in his short three months as a sevens player, a meteoric rise into the national jersey.  Mid Canterbury Heartland coach and Canterbury sevens coach Chris Neill had a hand in getting Jackman into sevens, and has helped guide the Lagmhor lad along the way."He's brand new to sevens, but he'll do alright. "He will be nervous but I'm sure they will ease him into it. He is bound to miss a few opportunities early on but he will grow into it. "Look how far he's come in just a few months." There will be nerves on debut, not aided by the pressure cooker environment, the pressure to perform in front of a parochial, party- minded home crowd, but the scathing eye of sevens guru Gordon Tietjens is the only one he wants to catch. Jackman is the new boy in the key role of playmaker, in charge of setting up the firepower outside him, the likes of Hosea Gear. "He is a rangy player who can take the ball to the line hard, but has great vision and a long pass. He has explosiveness with the ball and great timing on the run," Neill said. As well as the personal pressure to perform, Jackman has the inherited pressures of the rest of the team. New Zealand is out to defend their Wellington crown but also move ahead of Fiji on the overall ladder, with the sevens powerhouses currently tied on 51 points. The overall scheme of things is not the focus this weekend. This is the one tournament New Zealanders really want to win, the one in our own backyard. It is a lot of pressure to pile on the 23-year-old shoulders. The game of sevens could be a stepping stone to bigger things for Jackman, starting with a possible call up to travel to the next leg in Las Vegas. Professional sport can be a cruel business. Released by Hawkes Bay, he is currently without a provincial base hoping to return to Canterbury this season, but he is now a contracted New Zealand sevens player. "There's a few unions probably going to take a look at him after this weekend, but he has the option of staying in the sevens. "I also mentioned that if he sticks with it he can come play for Mid Canterbury when he's not needed on sevens duty," Neill said.
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