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New Zealand coach calls for All Blacks to follow Dupont’s sevens success
By Finn Morton
New Zealand men’s coach Tomasi Cama believes “it would be good for the game” if some All Blacks and Super Rugby Pacific players considered switching to sevens to pursue Olympic gold, just as France’s Antoine Dupont has.
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Fans and some pundits have weighed in on whether Dupont is now the greatest rugby player of all time after leading France to a famous 28-7 win over two-time defending Olympic champions Fiji in the gold medal match at Stade de France last weekend.
Dupont, 27, scored two tries – including one from a maul – and set up another in a Player of the Match performance that’ll be talked about for generations to come. The Frenchman was a clear standout in the men’s draw during a record-breaking three days at the Saint-Denis venue.
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The former World Rugby 15s Player of the Year, who captained France at their home Rugby World Cup in 2023, debuted on the SVNS Series in February in Vancouver. One week later, Dupont led Les Bleus to their first Cup Final triumph in almost 20 years.
France went on to claim the overall SVNS Series title at the Grand Final event in Madrid, with Dupont starring in that run to glory just one week on from Toulouse’s win over Leinster in the Champions Cup Final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
With the sevens season coming to a close, and after New Zealand finished at the Games following their quarter-final loss to rivals South Africa, coach Tomasi Cama has made it clear that he’d like to see more 15s players switch over.
“It would be good for the game,” Cama told the New Zealand Herald. “If All Blacks or Super Rugby (players) come and play sevens, it can inspire some other players that are thinking the only way to a Super Rugby (contract) or to the All Blacks is through playing 15s.
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“There is a pathway here. You can develop a lot of skills; with the skillsets here, you have to be good at all areas of the game. If those big names or players from the ABs came down and played, it would be inspiring for our programme as well, for those young ones coming through.”
The All Blacks were uncharacteristically off the mark to start the 2023/24 SVNS Series season as they failed to make it past the quarter-final stage in two of the first three events. At SVNS Perth in January, they ended up finishing in the bottom four.
New Zealand bounced back with an improved performance in Vancouver, and later claimed titles in both Hong Kong China and Singapore. But this appeared to be just that little bit off the pace with the Olympics rapidly approaching.
They made the semi-finals at the Grand Final event, so it’s not like they weren’t competitive, but the likes of France, Argentina and an improving Fiji side just looked a class above. Two of those teams would go on to make the Olympic gold medal match.
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But it must be said that what Dupont achieved was not easy.
Bryan Habana, Sonny Bill Williams and Michael Hooper have all switched to sevens with mixed results, but they certainly weren’t world-class in that sport like they were in 15s. It’s incredibly difficult to switch from rugby’s traditional format to sevens and succeed.
While New Zealand are still yet to win gold in men’s rugby sevens at the Olympics, coach Cama also stressed that the All Blacks Sevens’ coaching staff are confident in the players they have at the moment.
“With the way we performed last season, we really believe in our sevens boys,” Cama explained.
“We really believe in our programme and the people involved and we want to reward them as well for their hard work.”
