The 2017 Bay of Plenty Provincial Sevens Tournament, proudly sponsored by Seeka, is set to kick off the New Year's Sevens action at Blake Park this Saturday.

The tournament will feature the current Provincial Sevens title holders Taranaki, last year's Bayleys National Sevens winners Counties Manukau, and a talented Samoan Barbarians side.

A distinctive local flavour will be present with the selection of two Bay of Plenty Men's sevens sides competing for tournament honours.

Bayleys National Women's Sevens and current competition holders Manawatu will look to defend their title in the Women's section, alongside Southern Regional winners Canterbury and Northern Regional runners up and local favourites Bay of Plenty.

The Bay of Plenty Provincial Sevens tournament will be the final opportunity for teams to prepare ahead of the Bayleys National Sevens kicking off on January 14 at Rotorua International Stadium.

Bay of Plenty will be represented in both the men's and women's competition with two men's sides and one women's side, as players have their final chance to impress ahead of next weekend's Bayleys National Sevens.

The Bay of Plenty men's team has a mix of experience, featuring the return of All Blacks Sevens squad players' Dan Hollinshead and Teddy Stanaway.

Coach Paul says they have four players who have been involved with the All Blacks Sevens squad over the past couple of years.

'It is great for these young players coming through to be training and playing alongside these experienced New Zealand players. They are learning a lot and gaining a lot of knowledge from them around the game of sevens, which is pretty vital.”

Tietjens further acknowledges the importance of having depth in the sevens squad with two sides entered in the Provincial Sevens.

"It is really important that we promote and we build that depth into the side, especially if we concede an injury and need to bring players in. It also pushes and challenges players to be playing at their best so we can take the best team we can away to the Bayleys National Sevens next weekend."