New Zealand’s next gen sevens stars named in Ignite7 squads

New Zealand Rugby have revealed the four women’s and four men’s squads for the fourth edition of the Ignite7 tournament in Tauranga on 1-2 November, as the next generation of sevens stars look to make their mark at the prestigious competition.

Paris Olympics gold medallist Jazmin Felix-Hotham and Great Britain’s Isla Norman-Bell played at the event during their rise through rugby’s ranks, as did Melbourne Storm flyer William Warbrick, who represented the All Blacks Sevens before switching codes.

48 female and 48 male athletes have been selected for the two-day competition at Blake Park, which NZR notes in a press release will mix “new to rugby talent” with “emerging provincial union talent from across the country.”

 

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Black Ferns great Kelly Brazier will coach one of the women’s teams, with Renee Woodman-Wickliffe, Kristina Sue and Hazel Tubic taking charge of a team each. Auckland is the most-represented province with eight women’s players, followed by Manawatu with six.

All Blacks Sevens great DJ Forbes will lead the men’s Team Inferno, while former New Zealand Sevens skipper Scott Curry will coach Team Power. Tafai Ioasa will coach Team Bolt, and Zar Lawrence will guide Team Surge throughout the prestigious competition.

Black Ferns Sevens coach Cory Sweeney and All Blacks Sevens coach Tomasi Cama will be at the tournament watching on from the sidelines, as they juggle their own competitive commitments with matches against Australia, Fiji and Japan.

“There is a huge amount of talent across these eight squads and it’s going to be exciting to see how these players perform through the tournament and develop into the future,” New Zealand Rugby High Performance Talent Identification Manager PJ Williams said in a statement.

“Many of these players have experience in the NPC or Farah Palmer Cup, for others it’s a step up after playing at age-grade level, and for some it’s their first foray into our high-performance environment, so there is a real mix.”

Black Ferns fullback Renee Holmes and All Blacks halfback Kyle Preston graduated through the tournament six years ago. Calen Tangitau, Fehi Fineanganofo, Mahina Paul and Manaia Nuku also made their mark at Ignite7 before stepping up to the professional ranks.

For New Zealand Sevens’ senior squads, the new HSBC SVNS Series campaign gets underway in Dubai on November 29-30. Cape Town, Singapore, Australia, Vancouver and the USA will also host round-robin events before the all-new World Championships.

2025 Ignite7 Women’s Squads

Coach: Kelly Brazier
Squad: Arene Landon-Lane (Wellington), Arlia MacCarthy (Northland), Charlotte Va’afusuaga (Otago/Matatu), Elinor-Plum King (Manawatu/Hurricanes), Jayda Maniapoto (Manawatu), Kaea Nepia (Waikato/Matatu), Kavanah Lene (National Combine), Kiana Pohe (National Combine), Te Pumanawa o toku ate Rogers (Bay of Plenty), Presayus Singh (Auckland), Psalm Maletino (Auckland), Tara Turner (Counties Manukau/Blues).

Team Inferno

Coach: Renee Woodman-Wickliffe
Squad: Asha Taumoepeau-Williams (Auckland), Chloe Dixon (Tasman), Grace Ngataua (Combine), Holly-Rae Mete Renata (Auckland/Matatu), Kate Donald (Hawke’s Bay), Louise Blyde (Canterbury), Mele Latu’ila (Counties Manukau), Nia Sutherland (Wellington), Paris Lokotui (Netball), Rangimarie Sturmey (Manawatu/Hurricanes), Tiana Tiro (Waikato), Wikitoria Doyle (Manawatu).

Team Power

Coach: Kristina Sue
Squad: Anahera Hamahona (Manawatu), Angelica Mekemeke Vahai (Auckland), Bailey-Rae Edwards (Northland), Gillian Fa’aumu (Auckland), Harmony Kautai (Wellington/Hurricanes), Lela Ieremia (Waikato), Lialanie Muamua (Canterbury), Ngaawaimarino Simpkins (National Combine), Paris Robertson (National Combine), Reese Anderson (Waikato/Chiefs), Riko Yoshida (Canterbury), Taufa Bason (Auckland/Blues).

Team Surge

Coach: Hazel Tubic
Squad: Emacyn Ieremia (Auckland), Kaia Walker-Waitoa (Manawatu), Keelah Bodle (Waikato), Keira Mete Renata (Manawatu), Kim Lammers (Tasman), Kyla Lynch-Brown (Canterbury), Litia Bulicakau (Wellington), Liv Robson (National Combine), Rosie Moffitt (Taranaki), Sariyah Paitai (Counties Manukau), Shyrah Tuliau-Tua’a (Waikato), Sienna Stowers-Smith (Netball).

2025 Ignite7 Men’s Squads

Team Bolt

Coach: Tafai Ioasa
Squad: Aidan Spratley (Taranaki/Chiefs), Ben Johnston (Canterbury/Crusaders), Blake Makiri (Counties Manukau/Chiefs), Brayden Neilson (Taranaki/Chiefs), Cam Howell (North Harbour/Blues), Dan Maisiri (Bay of Plenty/Chiefs), Drew Wild (Manawatu/Hurricanes), Josh Peteru (Auckland/Blues), Kyan Rangitutia (Otago/Highlanders), Nathan Salmon (Northland/Blues), Reimana Saunderson-Rurawhe (North Harbour/Blues), Rui Farrant (Waikato/Chiefs).

Team Inferno

Coach: DJ Forbes
Squad: Antonio Popoali’i (Counties/Chiefs), Charles Gemmell (Auckland/Blues), Charlie Bent (Otago/Highlanders), Chicago Doyle (Bay of Plenty/Chiefs), CJ Mienie (Hawke’s Bay/Hurricanes), Cohen Brady-Leathem (Counties/Chiefs), David Kama (Counties/Chiefs), Issac Murray MacGregor (Canterbury/Crusaders), Joshua Gray (Counties/Chiefs), Marshall Blakely (Canterbury/Crusaders), Timoci Sauira (Tasman/Crusaders), Will Haig (Canterbury/Crusaders).

Team Power

Coach: Scott Curry
Squad: Adam Morrison (Auckland/Blues), Andrew Malua (Counties Manukau/Chiefs), Connor Tuifao (Wellington/Hurricanes), David Lewai (Waikato/Chiefs), Jacob Mckinnon (Auckland/Blues), Kiwi Duncan (Northland/Blues), Mattheus Pio (Auckland/Blues), Nathaniel Barry (Wellington/Hurricanes), Riley Williams (Canterbury/Crusaders), Sam Clarke (Taranaki/Chiefs), Sam Howling (Northland/Blues), Zac Shanks (Northland/Blues).

Team Surge

Coach: Zar Lawrence
Squad: Brian Lealiifano (Auckland/Crusaders), Fletcher Hewitt-Smart (Tasman/Crusaders), Jai Tamati (Manawatu/Hurricanes), Joseph Domoni (Tasman/Crusaders), Josh Setu (Taranaki/Chiefs), Justin Shaw (Southland/Highlanders), King Maxwell (Auckland/Blues), Landen Monks (Canterbury/Crusaders), Lazarus Papali’i (Auckland/Blues), Louis Lepionka (Otago/Blues), Maretino Kaloudou (Canterbury/Crusaders), Thomas Setitaia (Counties Manukau/Chiefs).