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All Blacks Sevens lose Sam Dickson for Dubai and Cape Town
In a major blow to the All Blacks Sevens ahead of their SVNS Series opener in Dubai this weekend, veteran Sam Dickson has been withdrawn from the travelling squad due to an injury.
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The All Blacks Sevens have confirmed that last year’s World Sevens Series-winning captain has suffered a hamstring strain in the lead-up to the new campaign.
Dickson will miss the opening two events of the SVNS season in Dubai and Cape Town and has been replaced by the ever-reliable Brady Rush.
The All Blacks Sevens may have soared to Cup final glory in Hong Kong earlier this year while Dickson was ruled out with an injury, but the genuine great leaves behind a void that is by no means easy to fill.
New head coach Tomasi Cama will have plenty of talented players to call upon at The Sevens Stadium in the United Arab Emirates this weekend, though. This list of sevens superstars within New Zealand’s ranks could go on and on.
After creating unrivalled history in May, record-breaking All Blacks Sevens ace Tim Mikkelson is back for another season after becoming the first New Zealand to play 100 international sevens events.
But New Zealand’s depth goes much deeper than that.
World Rugby Sevens Players of the Year nominees Leroy Carter and Akuila Rokolisoa headline the group, but experienced campaigners Scott Curry and Sione Molia will need to step up as leaders.
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With pre-season now officially in the books, coach Cama is looking forward to the start of the new-look SVNS Series in Dubai on December 2nd.
“There’s going to be some exciting pool games, and come the quarterfinals, the quality of the games is going to be higher than expected,” Cama said in a statement.
“We’re not here to defend anything. We’re going to play each game, and each tournament, as we go. Hopefully, we do well in each tournament.
Hoping for the speediest of recoveries, Sammy🖤#AllBlacks7s | #Dubai7s | #HSBCSVNS pic.twitter.com/TISf6nJP53
— NZ Sevens (@nz_sevens) November 30, 2023
“Most teams prepare well, and with it being the start of the series, everyone wants to start well. You don’t want to chase the series down the line.”
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The All Blacks Sevens have historically found a way to defend their World Sevens Series titles at least once – but often New Zealand’s success has forged into a sporting dynasty.
In the years that the All Blacks Sevens have ended their title droughts by being crowned World Series champions, the New Zealanders have only failed to back that up once.
With the dawn of a new SVNS era rapidly approaching, the men in black are firmly focused on the job at hand – but it’s no secret that the prize of Olympics glory in Paris is a motivation.
“We can’t really focus too much on what is at the back of this season. We want to make sure that we don’t miss a beat or a step along the way, and this is the first step for us,” Cama added.
“We’ve done our camp, we’ve done a lot of good things at our camp on where we want to get to and how we want to start on and off the field.
“We’ve challenged ourselves on a few things we can do better, things we can check along the way to make sure these things are aligned. If they are aligned, then things are on the right track come the Olympics.
“This is the first step. It will be interesting to see, and if we make that first step, hopefully we will step in the right direction whatever the outcome this week and I’m pretty sure it’s the right step towards that goal.”
All Blacks Sevens squad for Dubai
Akuila Rokolisoa, Che Clark, Codemeru Vai, Fehi Fineanganofo, Leroy Carter
Moses Leo, Ngarohi McGarvey-Black, Regan Ware, Brady Rush, Scott Curry, Sione Molia, Tepaea Cook-Savage, Tim Mikkelson
Comments on RugbyPass
I guess we may all agree on the fact, that the ABs and Boks are the two in contest for No 1 in rugby history (the triple-A sort of) …. the Wallabies, England and France are the next tier, with Ireland being the new kid in town (AA) …. in my view it makes little sense creating imaginary competitions (unless you have too much time to waste)
41 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Total joke and the pundits commentating, all of whom know a bit about the game, could barely disguise their contempt. Reaching for the card then pulling back when he realised a red card would carry further match suspensions is simply not his decision to make. A clear and obvious influence on the outcome of this match and indeed, the championship path.
2 Go to commentsI like the idea, in NZ the Ranfurly Shield and NPC coexist, both having their own bragging rights. The World Cup would be the pinnacle, but the competition and travels of these trophies would be interesting.
41 Go to commentsDon’t worry Sonny bill Williams leave that awkward situation about the curfew in the pass whoever it was it doesn’t matter its no big deal we back our All Blacks through the storm and the thunder until we see the Sun light again.
42 Go to commentsWho listens to this retard? He was a massive liability as a player but obviously a media sensation
42 Go to commentsI’m not surprised by such ‘virtue signalling’ by Sonny Boy. Butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He’s such a pious Islamic muppet, imo.
42 Go to commentsI’ve actually never heard of the guy (then I don’t watch League as it is boring). But if he is good enough.. then good luck to him. If not, well, he can always return to league.
2 Go to commentsIt is pretty clear that by almost any measure that NZ are a more successful rugby nation than South Africa. Quite aside from the distasteful events during the last RWC final. NZ lead SA in all significant measurements.
41 Go to commentsDickson went to his pocket for a card, saw who it was, changed his mind and spoke at length to TMO. One angle clearly shows Care diving over a Saints player to kill the ball. 1st yellow, reason given for not Red was player was falling backwards. He was only falling backwards after contact with Lawes. Graham try should have stood. Mitchell did not have both hands on the ball, ball went forward from a Saints boot dragging over it. 2 intentional knock-on's. One of which had an overlap on the outside. If Quins are happy to win by intentional foul play, then it does not say much for them. Would appear to be a bad day for Karl Dickson, also for the RFU in appointing a Ref who spent 8 years as a player at one of the clubs.
2 Go to commentsLet’s not forget about Ardie Savea just yet.
4 Go to commentsThe URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
4 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
4 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
4 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
4 Go to comments