New Zealand’s Joe Webber is grateful for having a close friend to call on during the toughest times of his rugby career.

The outside back has been included in the All Blacks Sevens squad for the Hong Kong and Singapore tournaments, after being sidelined for a year with reactive arthritis.

Webber contracted the condition just a week out from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and hasn’t pulled on the black jersey since.

His attempts to play through the pain at the Games proved insufficient, having to pull out of the tournament during the captain’s run.

Meanwhile, New Zealand will play Fiji at 8.55pm tomorrow.