Lomu-like Clarke's Olympic Dream In Doubt

Lomu-like Clarke's Olympic dream in doubt

Wellington, July 1 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Jul, 2021 ) :The Olympics dream of rising All Blacks star Caleb Clarke was in doubt Friday when he was omitted from the 12-man New Zealand squad but named as a travelling reserve.

The 22-year-old's only hope of going for gold is if he is called on as a replacement should any player be injured out of the three-day tournament.

Clarke stunned the rugby world on debut last year, using his powerful 1.89 metre (6-foot 2-inch), 107-kilo (236-pound)frame to make a mockery of a fragile Australia defence during a Test in Auckland.

The huge wing was praised as "a special player" by All Blacks captain Sam Cane and his performance drew immediate comparisons with the late Jonah Lomu, the All Blacks wing who is regarded as rugby's first global superstar.

But Clarke made himself unavailable for Super Rugby Trans-Tasman and the All Blacks this year in a gamble to make the Olympics.

Sevens coach Clark Laidlaw said it was the toughest team selection he had been involved in and the three travelling reserves, including Clarke "need to continue to prepare" as if they are going to play.

"Going to Olympics is the pinnacle of four or five years work. We were conscious of that as coaches and selectors, so we made sure we were really clear on how we want to play the game, where the players were at, and picked the best team to go forward," Laidlaw said.

"When you've only got 12 players for one tournament, and it could be 40 degrees with high humidity, having players who can rotate and share the load throughout a weekend and still nail their core role is important."New Zealand are the number one ranked side in the world and among the gold medal favourites in Tokyo after failing to make the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro five years ago.

They are in Pool A along with Australia, Argentina and South Korea.