New Zealand Rugby Player of the Year Jorja Miller speaks about transferring to the Black Ferns from the sevens side and her future goals. Video / Alyse Wright
Not a lot scares Jorja Miller.
Whether it’s playing for Olympic gold medals, entering a new environment, or putting her hand up for a ticket to the Rugby World Cup, she‘s always ready to take on new opportunities.
However, when it comes to the future of rugby sevens, the21-year-old admitted she‘s concerned.
Miller told the Herald it’s “really disappointing” that the long-term prospects of the sport are uncertain.
Recent funding issues for the World Sevens’ tournaments have forced events to be reduced to two days with only eight teams.
Meanwhile, Ireland has pulled out of the men’s competition, only retaining their women’s team, and the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow has ditched the sport entirely.
Jorja Miller won the 2024 Kelvin R Tremain Memorial New Zealand Rugby Player of the Year award. Photo / Photosport. Graphic / Paul Slater
“The sevens circuit is an amazing event as it highlights the best sevens players in the world.
“I guess, I have hope [for it’s survival]. It just needs the right backing and the right support, and it should continue for many years.”
New Zealand’s best rugby player owes a lot of her success to the seven-a-side oval ball code.
After just three years of playing for the Black Ferns sevens, she‘s helped New Zealand to three World Series wins, an Olympic gold medal in Paris, was awarded World Sevens Player of the Year and won the 2024 Kelvin R Tremain Memorial New Zealand Rugby Player of the Year award.
Jorja Miller is set to make her Black Ferns XV's debut. Photo / Photosport
The sport’s footprint has helped the Timaru native toward a hopeful Black Ferns XV’s debut this weekend against the United States in the Pacific Four Series at Albany’s North Harbour Stadium.
New Zealand women celebrate their Cup victory at the 2025 HSBC SVNS Los Angeles. Photo / Photosport
Miller said there are plenty of benefits to the code crossover.
“It’s obviously tough for the XV’s group to see sevens players jump in and out [of the squad], but I think at the end of the day, whether our sevens girls are the best players or not - we want to put our hand up and we want to push the group.”
Exploring the possibilities in rugby union also gives Miller a chance to create a back-up plan - in case the prospects in her preferred code diminish.
“I want to make that World Cup team and I want to win the World Cup, however that looks like - I’m really striving to get on that plane.”
Despite her short-term goals in rugby, Miller said sevens is still her preferred code, confirming she‘ll return back to the sport next year.
“I want to help grow that leadership space over in the sevens and help grow the young girls coming through.
She said winning another Olympic gold medal in sevens at the Los Angeles Games in 2028 is also an aim.
“I’m open to a lot of opportunities, but I love playing in the black jersey and I want to for many years.
Miller wants to play union back in her hometown at some stage in the future, debuting in Super Rugby Aupiki for Matatū and returning to her Canterbury Farah Palmer Cup team.
“My loyalty lies there. With Canterbury, we came second the year that I played.
“There‘s still a few more things that I want to tick off.”
Right now, though, Miller is embracing a new environment.
She was surprised by the sheer number of players and staff in the Black Ferns camp since arriving two weeks ago off the back of another sevens event win.
“Their management is probably bigger than what our sevens squad would travel with around the world,” she laughed.
Miller reckons Black Ferns winger Ayesha Leti-I’iga is one of the team’s biggest characters, always bringing the vibes.
“She always knows when and how to get the group up. If it’s a bit quiet, she‘s there.”
Meanwhile, it’s unfamiliar territory for the loose-forward being older, with more international experience than some of her teammates, such as breakout star Braxton Sorensen-McGee - in the sevens environment, she‘s always been the youngest.
She‘s also had to adjust to lineouts, scrums and set pieces, given the truncated nature of sevens - in terms of time and team sizes.
Miller isn’t scared about living up to the expectations on whether or not she‘ll thrive in union as she does in sevens.
“It’s probably myself putting that pressure on. I have high standards for myself and my performance.
“In the grand scheme of things, pressure isn’t going out and performing in a rugby game. That’s providing for your family, so we‘re pretty privileged for what we experience, but I really want to strive, and that’s the hard work that I need to put in to allow me to hopefully go ahead and perform.”
Miller hopes to be named in the lack Ferns team to play USA when the team is announced by coach Alan Bunting on Thursday.
Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team and won New Zealand’s Best Up and Coming journalist award in 2025. She‘s a football commentator and co-host of the Football Fever podcast, and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme.
