They might be reigning world champions but there is no resting up for the All Blacks Sevens as they try their best to impress coach Sir Gordon Tietjens for a spot in his Commonwealth Games' side.

The extended squad are currently training in Mount Maunganui ahead of the Games in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23 to August 3 where they will defend their gold medal from four years ago.
All Black Sevens member Gillies Kaka.

But while the notoriously hard trainings continue to push the player's limits, Gillies Kaka is one pleased to just be in with a chance to represent New Zealand.

Kaka, one of Sir Titch's finds of the 2012/13 season, is beginning to stamp his mark on the Sevens circuit showing explosive pace and a nose for the try line, having dotted down 20 times since debuting at the 2013 Wellington Sevens.

'It would be pretty humbling, I didn't think about it when I was younger and stuff like that,” says Kaka.

'But you hear people talking about it and it means quite a lot to everybody and I think if I manage to make it; it would be awesome.”

Despite being a mainstay in Sir Titch's side for the past two seasons, the Hawke's Bay product is aware he needs to impress the Sevens guru, taking nothing for granted.

'It's always difficult with Titch; you never know what he's thinking. So you have to come to camp fresh and put your selection forward towards him because he might go out of the box.

'He's a hard man to read, so you just have to please him on the field.”

The current World Series and World Cup champions are grouped with Canada, Scotland and Nigeria in pool play at this year's games, but Kaka is quick to quash any complacency in the side.

Following the announcement of the final 12 next week, the team, including two reserves, will travel to Amsterdam in mid-July for a pre-Games training camp, which will involve a game against the Netherlands Sevens team.

'We know it's a big deal [defending Commonwealth Games champions], but we try and take each game as it comes, pretty much.

'It's a bit different now since all the teams are getting better and we need to watch our back because everybody picks their game up against us.”

Sevens training camp in Mount Maunganui this week. Photos by Tracy Hardy.