Jorja Miller wins inaugural RugbyPass SVNS MVP with two events left

RugbyPass SVNS Series writers will review each tournament this season with their MVP votes. Finn Morton, Joe Harvey, Nick Wasiliev and Ben Smith weigh in with 3-2-1 votes towards the RugbyPass Men’s and Women’s SVNS Series MVP leaderboard.

Jorja Miller has been crowned the inaugural RugbyPass Women’s SVNS Series MVP ahead of the final two rounds of the World Championships, reflecting just how dominant and impressive the Black Ferns Sevens vice-captain has been this season.

Miller polled full votes at multiple regular season stops, racing out to a commanding lead ahead of SVNS New York at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The 22-year-old received just one vote from that event, but remained the clear front-runner for MVP honours.

New Zealand teammate Kelsey Teneti was unanimously recognised by three RugbyPass writers as the SVNS New York Women’s Player of the Tournament, moving ahead of Australia’s Maddison Levi into second on the overall leaderboard.

But there was still a 17-vote gap between Miller and Teneti going into the new-look three-event HSBC SVNS World Championship Series, which got underway at the fan favourite Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens last month.

With four writers returning to review the World Championship Series, Miller had a chance to wrap up the MVP race before the last two tournaments of the season. Those events will be in Valladolid, Spain, on May 29-31 and in Bordeaux, France, on June 5-7.

New Zealand started their quest for an unrivalled four-peat at the Hong Kong Sevens with a 29-12 win over SVNS 2 qualifiers Brazil, with Katelyn Vahaakolo running in a hat-trick of tries. Miller and Teneti also crossed for one each during the one-sided Pool A contest.

Miller scored a hat-trick in New Zealand’s second match, which was a 38-7 statement against Japan at Kai Tak Stadium. The Black Ferns Sevens made it three from three in pool play with a 38-0 win over Fiji on April 18, with Miller running in a double.

The Black Ferns Sevens were ruthless during the knockout stages, claiming big wins over Spain 32-5 and Canada 31-12. For the seventh time in as many events this season, New Zealand had booked their spot in the big dance.

New Zealand were matched up against arch-rivals Australia in the Hong Kong Sevens decider, and the Cup Final certainly lived up to the hype. Mahina Maul and Miller touched down for early tries before the Aussies hit back through co-captain Isabella Nasser.

Teneti extended New Zealand’s advantage with a runaway effort in the ninth minute, but Levi made things interesting with a try inside the final minute. It was a one-score game, but the Black Ferns Sevens did enough in the dying stages to secure the result.

Black Ferns Sevens captain Risi Pouri-Lane was rewarded with Player of the Final honours, as the regular season champions started their quest for a second consecutive World Championship crown with a series of clinical performances.

Pouri-Lane polled maximum votes from three of the four writers, with Nick Wasiliev allocating another three to Miller’s MVP season tally. Miller received votes from all four writers, and with Teneti not receiving any, it’s enough to wrap up the MVP race.

If Teneti polls a maximum of 12 votes at the next two stops and Miller doesn’t receive any, the current MVP leader will still be ahead by one. Miller has been a class above all season, and it now becomes a matter of how many votes the SVNS superstar will tally.

Maddison Levi, who overtook Black Ferns Sevens great Portia Woodman-Wickliffe for all-time SVNS Series career tries, is just one point behind Teneti after receiving three votes, now on 25 overall for the season.

Next up, the HSBC SVNS World Championships heads to Valladolid. The final two events of the Championships will determine who is crowned the best of the best, which sides earn core status for next season’s SVNS 1 campaign, and who is left to work their way back up from SVNS 2.

RugbyPass SVNS Series MVP 3-2-1 votes – Hong Kong China

Finn Morton

Men: Tristan Leyds (South Africa), Ryan Oothuizen (South Africa), Jeremy Trevithick (Spain)

Women: Risi Pouri-Lane (New Zealand), Maddison Levi (Australia), Jorja Miller (New Zealand)

Joe Harvey

Men: Tristan Leyds (South Africa), Shilton van Wyk (South Africa), Santiago Vera Feld (Argentina)

Women: Risi Pouri-Lane (New Zealand), Jorja Miller (New Zealand), Tia Hinds (Australia)

Nick Wasiliev

Men: Tristan Leyds (South Africa), Marcos Moneta (Argentina), Tobias Sainz-Trapaga (Spain)

Women: Jorja Miller (New Zealand), Tia Hinds (Australia), Lili Dezou (France)

Ben Smith

Men: Shilton van Wyk (South Africa), Selvyn Davids (South Africa), Ryan Oosthuizen (South Africa)

Women: Risi Pouri-Lane (New Zealand), Jorja Miller (New Zealand), Maddison Levi (Australia)

RugbyPass Women’s SVNS Series MVP leaderboard

Jorja Miller (New Zealand) – 51 votes
Kelsey Teneti (New Zealand) – 26 votes
Maddison Levi (Australia) – 25 votes
Risi Pouri-Lane (New Zealand) – 14 votes
Isabella Nasser (Australia) – 11 votes
Teagan Levi (Australia) – 9 votes
Jazmin Felix-Hotham (New Zealand), Olivia Apps (Canada), Tia Hinds (Australia) – 4 votes
Madison Ashby (Australia), Kaylen Thomas (USA) – 3 votes
Mahina Paul (New Zealand) – 2 votes
Hanako Utsumi (Japan), Reapi Ulunisau (Fiji), Maya Stewart (Australia), Jaymie Kolose (New Zealand), Su Adegoke (USA), Lili Dezou (France) – 1 vote

RugbyPass Men’s SVNS Series MVP leaderboard

Shilton van Wyk (South Africa) – 26 votes
Viwa Naduvalo (Fiji) – 21 votes
Tristan Leyds (South Africa) – 20 votes
Terio Veilawa (Fiji) – 13 votes
Ryan Oosthuizen (South Africa) – 12 votes
Luciano Gonzalez (Argentina) – 9 votes
Akuila Rokolisoa (New Zealand), Selvyn Davids (South Africa) – 8 votes
Brady Rush (New Zealand) – 6 votes
Dietrich Roache (Australia), Paulin Riva (France), Ricardo Duarttee (South Africa), Eduardo Lopez (Spain), Wallace Charlie (Australia) – 4 votes
Donovan Don (South Africa), Marcos Moneta (Argentina) – 3 votes
Nacani Boginisoko (Fiji), Kele Lasaqa (New Zealand), Jeremy Trevithick (Spain) – 2 votes
Pilipo Bukayaro (Fiji), Andy Timo (France), Rob Rush (New Zealand), Ben Dowling (Australia), Henry Hutchison (Australia), Santiago Vera Feld (Argentina), Tobias Sainz-Trapaga (Spain) – 1 vote