TWO Eastern Bay men’s sevens stars are shaping as key figures in the team’s quest for gold in France.

Ngarohi McGarvey-Black and Dylan Collier have been named in the 12-strong New Zealand men’s team that are aiming for gold in Paris.

New Zealand have opted for a relatively young squad, but the Eastern Bay duo add plenty of experience.

Collier has played more than 250 games for the New Zealand sevens side, while McGarvey-Black would have well in excess of 100 appearances next to his name.

For Ōpōtiki’s Collier, 2024 has shaped as a big season because he’s been captaining the side and is likely to do the job in Paris, while McGarvey-Black has missed part of it due to injury, but is back thriving and destined to help his team battle for gold.

It will be tough as some 15s players from other countries have committed to the 7s programme in Paris, including the host nation’s Anton Dupont, Ireland’s Hugo Keenan and Australian trio Darby Lancaster, Corey Toole and Mark Nawaqatinawase.

The Olympics are an honour for anybody to compete at and it will no doubt be like that for McGarvey-Black and Collier.

Collier has led the men’s team to multiple titles this season, so they will go into the Olympics with confidence.

The pair were part of the New Zealand men’s team for the Tokyo games where they claimed silver, alongside fellow Eastern Bay of Plenty star William Warbrick.

Warbrick is now forging out a career in the NRL, so the gold medal hopes fall on McGarvey-Black and Collier.

They take the Eastern Bay’s Olympic contingent to six people, along with Stacey Waaka, Mahina Paul, Hayden Wilde and Lisa Carrington.

The Olympics ceremony is on July 26, but the men’s sevens get their campaign under way on July 24 and 25, before the medal matches take place on July 27.

The teams are in Soustons, a town near Biarritz, for the next couple of weeks, before moving towards Paris for the start of the games.