Jazmin Felix-Hotham: Turning SVNS heartbreak into the Ultimate off-season

Black Ferns Sevens centre and 2024 Paris Olympic gold medalist Jazmin Felix-Hotham describes her off-season as “switching off, staying on.”

After the last HSBC SVNS Grand Final tournament in Bordeaux, France, Felix-Hotham and World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year Jorja Miller went on holiday to Majorca, Spain, and Amsterdam.

Restless and irritated by the Black Ferns Sevens’ two defeats to Australia in the Grand Final series in Bordeaux and Valladolid, Felix-Hotham decided to train with her former Japanese club Hokkaido Barbarians for a month.

She further expanded her Sevens portfolio with a three-tournament stint with Clan Taran in the Ultimate Sevens in September. Based in Madrid, the Ultimate Sevens featured six internationally combined teams competing in tournaments in Cardiff, Biarritz, and London.

It was a cut-throat format where a win in the first pool game was necessary to advance to the final. Clan Taran, representing the Celtic nations of Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, achieved its best result with a runners-up place in Biarritz.

“The Ultimate Sevens is an awesome concept. There isn’t much opportunity to play with the girls we compete against in the World Series,” Felix-Hotham said.

“Our team included Camilla Carvalho from Brazil, Eden Kilgour from Canada, Heidi Dennis, and Mackenzie Davis from Australia. It was great to learn from them in a new environment and also from the men’s team who trained frequently with us.

“Our coach was Phil Snyman from South Africa. He’s won the World Series. I was excited to work with him. I found many similarities between Phil and Cory Sweeney, though Phil uses stronger language. Phil is a very good coach who wants his players to be multi-dimensional. They can all kick, pass, and run.

“I worked extensively with Renfred Dazel. He has improved my kicking game, which I hadn’t focused on much before.

“With the Black Ferns Sevens, we were proud of our league season. We improved consistently and won five tournaments in a row. The hardest thing is staying at the top of the table for a long time. We let it slip at the end. It’s cliché, but little errors – missed kickoffs, turnovers, penalties, and execution in big moments – let us down. The Grand Final tournaments are pinnacle events for us. We must execute better under pressure. Heading into an Olympic cycle, prior form doesn’t matter at the Olympics. Personally, Ultimate Sevens created that type of environment well.”

It’s less than two years until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the Black Ferns Sevens intend to ratchet up the pressure in the 2026/2027 HSBC SVNS, which starts in Dubai on November 27.

Crucially, Olympic gold medalists Sarah Hirini, Shiray Kaka, and Michaela Blyde, the SVNS all-time leading try scorer, return from maternity leave. Renee Holmes, a 2022 Rugby World Cup winner in fifteens with the Black Ferns, joins the fray, while Felix-Hotham, Katelyn Vaha’akolo, Jorja Miller, Braxton Sorensen-McGee, Kelsey Tenetti, and Maia Davis will look to build on strong 2025/2026 form.

”I’m really excited about the coming season. We’ve reviewed the two losses thoroughly and refreshed the squad. Renee Holmes is awesome, such a professional athlete. She wants to learn, asks lots of questions, and learns fast. I think her fresh eyes and skill from restarts and as a goal kicker will add a lot,” Felix-Hotham said.

“Kavanah Lene is one to watch. She’s come to us from basketball. She lived with me and has been in the Black Ferns Sevens setup for about a year now. She’s learning what it takes to become a high-performance athlete and has serious talent. I can’t wait to see her exposed to the World Series.”

The Black Ferns Sevens have won 62 of the 96 tournaments they have contested since 2000 and 543 of 597 matches across all competitions. Since 2012, in the SVNS era, they have won 48 of their 61 Cup final appearances. Twenty-seven of those wins have come in 38 matches against Australia. The Black Ferns Sevens have won 393 of 435 SVNS matches.