All Blacks Sevens rugby at crossroads as Black Ferns shine: Elliott Smith’s Tight Five

Michaela Brake in action in Vancouver. Photo / SmartFrame

An observation ...

The Vancouver Sevens tournament shone a light on both the value and sometimes detrimental value of experience. For the women’s side, 29-year-old Michaela Brake claimed the all-time leading try-scoring mark in a five-try, first-half haul in their tournament opener against Ireland.

The reliable core of Black Ferns Sevens experience – some of whom have bagged two Olympic gold medals – scorched their way to another tournament title.

An explanation ...

On the other hand, the All Blacks Sevens side look like a collection of yesterday’s men and the programme seems to be in serious decline. Yet to make a tournament final from four attempts this World Series, they are 30 points off leaders Argentina.

Among the many worries in Vancouver was the attack that appeared to move in slow motion at times – lacking pace both in the middle but especially out wide to really frighten the top teams. The New Zealanders were trying to win in arm-wrestles rather than explosiveness.

A suggestion ...

The men’s team are lacking a game-breaker – it was an issue that cost them in their quarter–final exit at the Olympics last year. Another issue is the high age profile of the squad. Just two members of the Spanish squad that beat them in the quarter-finals were over 30; in contrast, the New Zealand side carried eight players over that age.

Sevens has often relied on the guile of an older hand or two, but the All Blacks Sevens look like a team whose best years are now well behind them. Several of the current squad are unlikely to be there in three-and-a-half years.

A question ...

What has led to the demise of a World Series champion team just two years ago? Alongside the lack of regeneration of talent, the death of the national sevens tournament hasn’t helped, neither has the hoovering of talent at high-school level by both NRL sides and Super Rugby academies.

Those players that do take up sevens are quickly scalped off by NRL or Super Rugby sides – Moses Leo and Fehi Fineanganofo being two examples. Former coach Sir Gordon Tietjens would often have his best talent picked off by Super Rugby sides, but now the challenge appears to even get them to consider sevens at all.

A prediction ...

The sport itself is in a state of flux, with no more Commonwealth Games berths and the unclear future of the Sevens World Cup, leaving no pinnacle events outside the Olympics. That makes it difficult for New Zealand Rugby to plan what to do with the men’s side.

With Super Rugby Pacific sides ballooning to squads of 38 plus some extra training players, roughly 200 rugby players are already accounted for before sevens gets a look-in. Many consider their path to rugby professionalism better served by being in a Super Rugby development side, rather than trying their hand at sevens.

Oli Mathis has been a star for the All Blacks Sevens. Photo / Photosport

Oli Mathis is one up-and-comer who has run with sevens, but his future almost certainly lies in XVs. The major issue with sevens in New Zealand? Convincing male rugby players to want to play it. That’s the big fix that NZR must figure out – especially as the name carries the All Blacks branding. The women sevens side – who have some of the best athletes in the country – lead the way, the men are lagging.

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