The eagerly awaited battle between Wendell Sailor and Jonah Lomu took a step closer with Sailor cleared to play in February's World Sevens in Brisbane if selected for Australia.

The Queensland Rugby Union cleared Sailor for selection and it would provide the tournament, on February 2-3, with a massive boost. When Sailor made his debut for Queensland the interest in the game soared with curious fans keen to get a glimpse of Sailor's style

"It's fantastic to have a player of Wendell's ability available for selection for the Brisbane Sevens," Australian Sevens coach Julian Gardner said.

"His acceleration, upper body strength and ability to break tackles make him very suited to Sevens. He is a very difficult player to catch, let alone tackle, and he is a strong defender.

"In many ways he is quite similar to Jonah Lomu who always makes a big impact when he plays for the New Zealand Sevens.

"The team for the Brisbane Sevens is yet to be selected, but it's very comforting to know a player of Wendell's calibre is available."

Lomu, who recently re-signed with the Rugby Union, has had his new contract altered. His old contract included a clause that forced the Hurricanes to free him from their Super 12 preparations for the Wellington 7s tournament.

That clause has now been dropped, which means the Hurricanes can stop Lomu from playing in the Wellington tournament on February 8 and 9.

New Zealand Sevens coach Gordon Tietjens has not given up on Lomu and plans to talk to discuss the Wellington tournament with the macro-wing and Mourie.

"If Jonah was keen and wanted to be considered, then I would certainly consider him," Tietjens told The Dominion.