Thursday, 17th May 2012
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| Jackman shines in sevens debut |
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By Erin Tasker February 6, 2012
Not only did they lift the trophy at the end of the Wellington leg of the IRB series on Saturday night, but he's also likely to today be named in the squad to contest the Las Vegas leg this weekend. And the Ashburton lad couldn't be happier. Yesterday morning he said the body was a bit sore after two days of tough sevens action, but he was over the moon to have helped his side defend its Wellington title and to have gotten so much game time. That game time did come at someone else's expense though, with a serious leg injury to Toby Arnold within a minute of game one on Friday catapulting Jackman from the bench to the starting line-up.  But for Jackman it was an opportunity to show the country why he was there after being called in as one of two new caps, following a stellar performance for Canterbury at the nationals. And he grabbed that opportunity with both hands. He scored two tries, set up others, and was solid in defence. He has played for Hawke's Bay in rugby's ITM Cup in recent years and that put him in good stead for the sevens. He said he didn't find it too much of a step up and he maintained his usual relaxed attitude and focused on the task at hand. And that wasn't always easy, with a packed stadium cheering loudly for their side and making it hard to hear the on-field calls at times. "But it was definitely good to be inside the stadium this time," he said. "It was electrifying to be in front of such a big crowd that was cheering for us." Last year, Jackman was a sevens fan. He was one of the thousands dressed up in the stands watching on as New Zealand lifted the trophy. But this year he didn't buy tickets. He had it in the back of his mind that he would like to make the national sevens side, so he worked hard, and he achieved it. Jackman was off contract, having not been picked up by any Super Rugby franchises, but he has now signed on with the NZRU to play sevens for the year. And given his first-up performances, he may have found his niche. Pulling on the New Zealand sevens team jersey for the first time was an honour, he said. "To pull on that silver fern for the first time at the top level, it was a fantastic thing to do, and to do it in front of a home crowd was even better," he said. Among those cheering him on were his mum Rhonda and sister Annabelle, who made the trip to Wellington to see him in action. And he did them proud. Having finished up with Hawke's Bay, he moved back down south and moved back in with his mum, who now lives in Christchurch. He made the Canterbury sevens team and followed that with his call-up to the national side. So having just gotten used to having him around again, his mum might not be seeing much of him in the coming months, as he's likely to hit the road with his new team-mates in search of sevens glory.
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