All Blacks Sevens: a team worth following
There’s a big sevens tournament in Hamilton this weekend.
Apparently. Round three of the 2018-19 World Sevens Series, no less.
Gee, you wouldn’t know it given the dearth of wider national media coverage, certainly in New Zealand’s largest newspaper.
Not that long ago, the NZ Sevens in Wellington was given wall to wall coverage. Of the footy, that is. Then it morphed into a closer look at how drunk people got (very) before the event upped sticks after 18 mostly successful years in the capital.
The All Blacks, as we know, monopolise media coverage, often to the detriment of other national teams. That is not the All Blacks’ fault, of course. But some of the mainstream media might need jolting that the Olympics are in Tokyo next year.
The All Blacks Sevens will be there, anxious to perform better than in 2016 when they imploded in spectacularly unexpected style in Rio. They just have to qualify in this World Series cycle. They should do it, as coach Clark Laidlaw has proven he is on the right track after the odd early hiccup.
After the departure of Sir Gordon Tietjens, one of the greatest talent scouts in the history of rugby, in 2016, things got messy for the All Blacks Sevens. The anointed one, Laidlaw himself, had to see out the second season of his London Irish contract. Scott Waldrom manfully stepped up as interim coach and did a fair job in difficult circumstances, helped by the admirable old warhorse DJ Forbes.
Laidlaw has built a culture, helped immeasurably by a centralised training base which sees the squad train together in Mt Maunganui. However, they had to settle for third place in the 2017-18 World Series. But they were peaking for two big events – the April Commonwealth Games and the July RWC Sevens. They delivered in style in both marquee tournaments. On the Gold Coast, their dissection of Fiji in the final was a tactical masterpiece. Led by a superb display in the RWC final against England by skipper Scott Curry, they were clinical in the clutch.
The 20-man squad for 2019 is full of experience, pace, sevens nous and X-factor. Many have re-signed medium-term, which shows they want be part of the sevens landscape. In the past it was mostly used as a stepping stone to Super Rugby.
We will have to wait a bit longer to see Niko Jones in action, but he is a tremendous young talent who could easily be in Tokyo. The unheralded work comes from the likes of Sam Dickson, strong aerially, Andrew Knewstubb and Dylan Collier.
The side showed a heap of resilience and character to overcome a plethora of injuries to open up the 2018-19 World Series with a Cup final win in Dubai, their first in the UAE since 2009. Fourth position in Cape Town was as a direct result of those injuries.
So, in between mowing the lawns and checking on the cricket this Saturday, tune in at 12.36pm, 4.26pm and 8.36pm. New Zealand should romp through its pool, but watch for form, patterns of play and who looks sharp. Then watch even more closely on Sunday when the real edge is there. Keep watching this team between now and Tokyo 2020. They are worth it.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments