Waikato’s backrow-wing utility headlines All Blacks Sevens squad

The All Blacks Sevens will usher in a new era from November 30 to December 1 when the 2024/25 HSBC SVNS Series gets underway in Dubai. Waikato’s backrow and wing utility Oli Mathis headlines a new-look 13-man squad which includes two other debutants.

Leroy Carter, Moses Leo, Che Clarke, Tepaea Cook-Savage, Fehi Fineanganofo, Sam Dickson, Scott Curry and Tim Mikkelson have all bid farewell to the sevens’ black jersey, as confirmed by a video on New Zealand Sevens’ Instagram page last week.

But when one door closes, another opens. Three debutants have been named before the SVNS Series opener at The Sevens Stadium, with those being Mathis, North Harbour’s Sofai Maka and Joey Taumateine who was named the Counties Manukau Under-19s Player of the Year.

There is a valuable mix of experience in this group too, with captain Dylan Collier, Joe Webber and Sione Molia all boasting more than 50 caps for the All Blacks Sevens. Collier led the team to Cup Final glory in Hong Kong China and Singapore last season.

Playmaker Andrew Knewstubb, Ngarohi McGarvey-Black, Tone Ng Shiu, Lewis Ormond, Brady Rush and Codemeru (Cody) Vai are the other squad members. New Zealand will be eager to start the season well after their quarter-final elimination at the Paris Olympic Games.

“As coaches it excites us to bring young people in and help with their growth. They have to learn fast, but that is all part of the excitement,” coach Tomasi Cama said in a statement.

“We had a training run against Hamilton Boys’ High School last year and that is where we first saw Oli. He went on to have a great season for Waikato, so we brought him in to train with us. He is eager to learn and loves sevens so we are excited with his speed and physicality, what he will bring to the team.

“Sofai has the potential to become a great sevens player. We saw in the NPC he makes a lot of line breaks, scores a lot of tries; he understands the game well and with a few injuries in our midfield he gets his opportunity.

“We’ve talked a lot about connecting to our DNA. This team is about hard work, that will be the foundation that allows us to play a brand of rugby we all love; exciting, free playing, unstructured. That’s what we want to go out there to do.”

The three debutants have all been earmarked as players for the future. With plenty of potential and promise, the trio will all look to make their mark when given the opportunity to wear the black jersey for the first time on the SVNS Series.

Mathis is a product out of Hamilton Boys’ High School who impressed with the New Zealand Schools team last year where he claimed the golden boot. The youngster debuted for Waikato in the NPC where he started the season at flanker but finished it on the right wing.

Another one of the debutants, Maka, brings three seasons of NPC with him into the All Blacks Sevens environment. The De La Salle College graduated played one season with Auckland before making the move to North Harbour.

Taumateine is another player who has been heralded as a star on the rise. Having represented New Zealand Under-18s Sevens and New Zealand Men’s Development side inside the last year, the Wesley College is a player to watch on the SVNS Series.

Dubai gets underway from November 30 to December 1. Other stops on the SVNS Series will be in Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Hong Kong China, Singapore and Los Angeles.

All Blacks Sevens team

Dylan Collier (c)

Jayden Keelan

Andrew Knewstubb

Oli Mathis (debut)

Sofai Maka (debut)

Ngarohi McGarvey-Black

Sione Molia

Tone Ng Shiu

Lewis Ormond

Brady Rush

Joey Taumateine (debut)

Codemeru Vai

Joe Webber

Unavailable due to injury: Regan Ware, Amanaki Nicole, Kitiona Vai, Roderick Solo, Akuila Rokolisoa, Xavier Tito-Harris