Final hurrah for the All Blacks Sevens

The All Blacks Sevens finish their season in Los Angeles this weekend at the World Championship event after a series of disappointing results that saw them finish seventh on the circuit.

Over the 2024/25 season they weren’t able to win any of the six events, while missing out on a top three finish at every stop.

Their best return was a fourth place finish in Dubai to start the season, while in Perth the side finished a lowly ninth.

While the Black Ferns Sevens rode high with a dominant seasons ever (they made the final at every stop and won four of the six events), it is clear the All Blacks Sevens have a different fight on their hands.

Sevens has well and truly changed from a global perspective in the men’s game. The top three nominees for World Sevens Player of the Year all speak Spanish, with two Argentinians and one Spaniard.

Los Pumas have unbelievable power in the forwards, with Luciano Gonzalez the game’s premier player. He will likely take the Player of the Year gong, while his nominated teammate Marcos Moneta is one of the fastest players in the game, already won it in 2023.

It’s no longer about New Zealand and Fiji and hasn’t been for some time. Olympic gold medallists France are strong, even without Antoine Dupont, Argentina are in the midst of their greatest era ever, Spain has risen to become a top men’s side finishing third this season. South Africa and Australia are still strong.

Just not long ago Samoa was one of the best teams on the men’s circuit, and now they have dropped off completely after being relegated. USA, once a rising force in the 2010s with speedsters Carlin Isles and Perry Baker, finished dead last.

The men’s sevens game has never been better as a product with the unpredictable nature of the competitive landscape, but that’s not good news for the All Blacks Sevens and the dominance they once held.

In 2021/22 following the Covid years, the All Blacks Sevens finished eighth due to not being able to compete at the first four legs of the circuit. They managed to win the last event of the season, in Los Angeles.

Under then-coach Clark Laidlaw, the All Blacks Sevens surged back the following season to claim their 14th title in the 2022/23 season at a time where the circuit was 11 stops long. This was also coincidently the last year they were able to play on home soil in Hamilton.

They won five of the 11 events, coming home strong down the stretch and held off runners-up Argentina for the series championship.

That year was the breakthrough season for Roderick Solo who was a game-changer. Unfortunately injury has kept him sidelined since. Solo was a weapon who was a one-on-one nightmare to defend which gave the side instant production when they needed it. Cody Vai emerged as an 18-year-old in Hong Kong with a dream debut tournament as an injury cover call up. The team gelled with a good core of veterans and young talent.

The following year they came a respectable third on the circuit before the Olympics campaign of 2024. The post-Olympics exodus has seen some superb athletes leave the setup in their mid-to-late 20s. And rightly so, if they have ambitions in the 15s no one can blame them, it is the right time to make the move.

Leroy Carter moved to the Chiefs, Fehi Fineanganofo to the Hurricanes and Moses Leo went to the Melbourne Storm. All were in their prime, particularly Carter who  was nominated as World Player of the Year in 2023. A New Zealand player hasn’t won that award since Tim Mikkelson in 2013.

Losing just a handful of those players has hurt at a time when you can’t lose an inch in this men’s competition. Not to mention the injuries.

Playmaker Akuila Rokolisoa has not been seen this season due to injury, and he’s one of the all-time top scorers. He’s due to return in LA. Cody Vai’s older brother Kitiona, is also back for the first time in a long time. Amanaki Nicole made his return in Hong Kong.

The All Blacks Sevens still have plenty of young talent, 19-year-old prodigy Oli Mathis came through this season, North Harbour’s Sofai Maka after a breakout NPC season, Xavier Tito-Harris who debuted as an 18-year-old and is still just 20.

Frank Vaenuku is just 19 and is a New Zealand U20 rep, along with this year’s U20 squad member Maloni Kunawave who debuted in Perth but is now with the U20 programme.

They haven’t found the title-winning formula yet but in Los Angeles they will have a lot of big names back for the first time.

There’s one more roll of the dice in Los Angeles with the chance to win a one-off world championship. As long as there is chance, that’s all that’s needed for any New Zealand rugby side. Every dog has its day as they say.

But even after Los Angeles as the wind of change sweeps through the circuit, the All Blacks Sevens need some love, a rejuvenation, and a resurgence.

Without being able to play at home, they don’t get a lot of some support from back home and a deep connection with the country is somewhat missing as a result. They don’t get the attention the All Blacks do, and they don’t get the love the Black Ferns do.

They are facing a challenge unlike any rugby team in the country and that is reason enough to get behind them, whether they win or not. They are actually now the underdogs and are fighting the strongest opposition of any of the national teams.

The team has some of the country’s brightest young players out there on the front lines that are worth supporting and they need it now more than ever. The 2024/25 has been a tough season but tough times breed strong players. And strong players create good times.

There is too much talent in New Zealand to keep this Sevens side down for long. When they get it together, they will no doubt they will rise again. Don’t bet against black.