Black Ferns Sevens staying poised despite Olympic ambitions

Stacey Fluhler scored for the Black Ferns against France in their semifinal. Photo / Photosport

Once the Sevens World Series is all said and done and it's time for the teams to turn their attention to the Olympic Games, the Black Ferns Sevens will have some work to do.

For starters, the World Series is near the halfway point, and the Olympic qualification spots are yet to be filled out.

Just 10 of the 12 qualification spots have been filled, with three of those 10 teams not full-time competitors on the World Series, and Great Britain occupying another spot. The likes of France and Russia are yet to cement an Olympic berth.

Not looking too far ahead was a point made clear by Black Ferns Sevens star Ruby Tui in Hamilton this weekend, who said when the Olympic Games come around, it's a whole different game.

"Because sevens is so fast paced, you constantly have to change the way you play," she explained. "So if we studied every team in this tournament, it wouldn't actually matter at the Olympics. You have to keep up with the game plans and game play of every single team."

While they're not getting ahead of themselves, the Black Ferns Sevens have shown they'll be tough to get past later in the year, with their recent results from Glendale, Dubai and Cape Town carrying into their victory at the Hamilton event over the weekend.

It was an historic moment for the New Zealand women's team to run out onto the turf at Waikato Stadium, as it was the first time the country had hosted an official stop on the World Series.

The addition of the women's event saw both competitions play out over a reduced format, with no quarter-finals due to time constraints. It meant the men had to win their pool to qualify for the semifinals, while the three pool winners as well as the best second-placed team qualified from the women's draw.

Last year the women's played in a four-team exhibition tournament which gave them and the fans a taste of what could be, but playing in a fully-fledged World Series stop was another experience entirely.

"I'd say it means the world to me, but it means more than that," Tui said. "This is the first time ever that the women are completely parallel with the men in New Zealand. That's amazing."