Scott Gregory’s eight-year full-circle path back to All Blacks Sevens

Scott Gregory, 27, has come full circle. The versatile Northland back, now playing for Southland in the NPC (20 matches), is back on the All Blacks Sevens team after eight years since his debut.

In 2018, Gregory, aged 19, helped the All Blacks Sevens win the Dubai Cup title, beating the USA 21-5 in the final. The All Blacks Sevens finished the 2018/19 SVNS series in third place, a position they feel one short of in the league championship this year. However, they won in Dubai for the first time since that success in November 2025.

“Sevens has definitely become more technical on both attack and defence,” Gregory told RugbyPass.

“There’s still a lot of intuitive play and speed, but teams are more patterned now, set pieces are more vital, and defences are better.

“There is so little time to recover. Mistakes happen quickly and can hurt. You have to adapt or move on quickly; otherwise, you are in trouble.

“Our goal is always to win. To do that, we have to focus on the process. If you are outcome-driven all the time, that can be daunting, especially for the young fellas. If we stick to our processes and control what we can control, the result will take care of itself.”

That happened in Dubai, but the All Blacks Sevens campaign since November has been a roller coaster. Their best result since was third in Singapore in January. In the bronze medal playoff, they beat South Africa 14-12 with Gregory’s Southland teammate Michael Manson scoring the winning try. South Africa has since won the next four tournaments in a row.

“South Africa has a lot of experience, they’re a quick and smart team across a lot of detail and their roles,” Gregory said.

“Our young fellas are awesome. Kele Lasaqa, Frank Vaenuku, Riley Williams – these guys are so talented and will benefit from more experience. It’s about following the process and giving them the confidence to express themselves.”

Another change since Gregory joined the All Blacks Sevens was that Clark Laidlaw was in the early stages of his coaching tenure, which eventually garnered two SVNS league titles and 275 wins in 354 matches. He is now with the Hurricanes, who have 32 wins in 44 matches and have won the last two Super Rugby Pacific minor Premierships. Gregory is unsurprised by Laidlaw’s upward trajectory.

“Clark’s a top man, the first coach who gave me an opportunity at a professional level. He’s much more than an angry Scotsman,” Gregory laughed.

“His attention to detail is awesome. He’s got an ability to really gel a team. The Hurricanes are going awesome.”

Gregory’s rugby career first took off at Whang?rei Boys’ High School when he was selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools team that beat Australia and Fiji in 2016.

The New Zealand age group hammer and discus throwing champion then played 36 games for Northland between 2018 and 2021. His 33 games for the Highlanders between 2020 and 2023 earned him 32 appearances for Italian side Zebre Parma, mostly in the Pro14. Gregory described “Northern” rugby as a hybrid of Italian, Scottish, and English styles, with more kicking, passionate crowds, and on a similar level to Super Rugby Pacific.

He believes he is now a more rounded player, but conceded that getting back up to speed with Sevens’ fitness took some time.

The All Blacks Sevens were off the pace in Hong Kong China, finishing fourth. They head to  Valladolid seeking their first Spanish Cup title. They are grouped with Uruguay, whom they’ve beaten 11 times in 12 matches but lost to 17-12 in Perth in 2025; Germany, whom they beat 59-5 way back in Paris in 2005-06; and Argentina, whom they’ve beaten 85 times in 106 matches.

P.S. Whangarei Boys’ High School are New Zealand’s current national secondary schools sevens champions, winning the “Condors” from the 20th seed in 2025. Tony Monaghan and Norm Berryman are former All Blacks Sevens representatives from the school. Henare Parangi was the MVP of the 2025 Condor Sevens. The New Zealand age-group touch international is one to watch.