I well remember the day a New Zealand Rugby staffer put their hands on me. It seems I’d made them angry.
The Wellington Sevens was dying in a ditch and our governing body wanted a positive spin put on things and for we in the media to write glowing things about our anonymous men’s sevens “stars’’.
I was just there to write about and talk to Sonny Bill Williams, I told him.
“I know Sonny spoke on Tuesday and isn’t scheduled to speak again, but he’s the only person we want to talk to,’’ I said. I copped an open palm to the chest for my troubles, from the media handler.
That Olympic campaign ended in injury for Williams, while Wellington Sevens teammate Ardie Savea never made it to Rio.
Turns out someone had whispered in his ear that his career would be enhanced immeasurably by pulling out of that sevens squad, which he duly did.
Eight years on, there’s any number of established or would-be All Blacks who could benefit from seven-a-side rugby in this Olympic year.
Super Rugby Pacific is neither use nor ornament at the moment, while we negotiate these bye weeks and the Rugby World Cup cycle has a few revolutions to go before we reach some Tests of consequence.
Put simply, the sevens grounding that made elite All Blacks out of players such as Christian Cullen and Jonah Lomu would do more to develop guys than Super Rugby is right now.
Take Caleb Clarke, who’s not without experience in sevens rugby. The man’s one discernible trick is to run over people, which isn’t that tricky if they can tackle.
For a guy who grew up playing centre, his passing also isn’t up to much.
Then there’s Rieko Ioane, who did go to Rio with Sonny Bill. Nothing wrong with his evasive skills but, again, here’s a bloke who can’t (or won’t) pass. Sevens would help sort that out.
Rieko Ioane of New Zealand holds off Humphrey Kayange of Kenya during the 2016 Olympic Games. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Salesi Rayasi and Kini Naholo are others. Shaun Stevenson too.
Hell, even grafters like Ethan Blackadder, Tom Christie and Cullen Grace might develop a bit of dynamism in that environment.
And then there’s Beauden Barrett, a man who’s won most things in the game and played sevens for New Zealand at the outset of his professional career.
Could we not have sold him on the dream of an Olympic gold medal in Paris, instead of another sabbatical in Japan?
I mention this stuff for a couple of reasons. First, sevens was once the means by which we prepared players for All Blacks duty.
We wanted to play a running, passing game in 15-a-side rugby and we honed those skills in sevens.
Yes, the composition of the rugby calendar was different back then. Sevens was pre-season and players got rock-hard fit and developed confidence from being flogged to near death by New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens and Wayne Smith before him.
The other reason why sevens is on my mind is Hong Kong. That’s where legends such as Lomu and Cullen announced themselves to the world, but the 2024 edition of that tournament has come and gone without too many people noticing.
Never mind the rugby, 20 or 30 years ago, the Hong Kong Sevens was the ultimate boys’ trip for Kiwi footy fans and now only a few realise it’s on.
Running a men’s sevens programme isn’t cheap for New Zealand Rugby. I divorce the women’s team from this conversation, because our elite players make a point of prioritising sevens.
But what’s the point of the blokes’ team if it’s not to develop our best players for Test rugby and to showcase our talent to the world?
Your rank and file Olympic viewer sees New Zealand on the sevens schedule and assumes it’s the All Blacks. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth.
We can’t even hold a tournament in this country, despite our men and women both reigning supreme at Hong Kong, partly because there’s no male players with the profile to attract an audience.
The All Blacks have lacked the forward might to dominate Test rugby in recent years, but we’ve no shortage of athletes that could set the sevens world alight.
Give me Beauden Barrett in a sevens team then. Let’s have Jordie while we’re at it too.
Bring in Clarke, Ioane and whoever else as well. Ahead of the 2016 Games in Brazil, we had any number of good players indicate their interest, including Kieran Read, Aaron Smith and Ben Smith.
And what did we do? We reminded them where their bread was buttered and they quickly pledged their allegiance to 15s.
I’ve no particular interest in men’s sevens anymore, I just remember how many good All Blacks came off that production line.
HittingGapsWithNoGas
Roar Rookie
I agree. It might not be every Rugby tragic’s cup of tea (full disclosure: I love it) but it can be a great gateway drug for fairweather fans. A simple introduction to the breakdown and the lineout for absolute novices. Plus it’s super popular, commercially viable and we have decent Australian programs and talent - all rare things in Aussie Rugby that make a case for embracing it and seeking to build a profit engine around it.
Andy J
Roar Rookie
You’re correct, he’s going well down at the storm it’s Will Warbrick
Andy J
Roar Rookie
But the wallabies could use the sevens program to develop players. Is it now interesting for you?
woodart
Roar Rookie
can we have our coaches back then?
Khun Phil
Roar Rookie
Agree,Dusty,touch was a great way to hone your skills.Many,many years ago when I played,we had a company team in business houses league comp and our only training was a game of touch in our lunch hour at work.Most of us played rugby on Saturdays,with different teams,then league on Sunday in the business houses comp.The company team was very good and we beat everyone until the final,when we faced a team we had beaten easily before but couldn't recognise any of the faces as they had rung in a host of grade leaguies :laughing:
Sheikh
Roar Rookie
Forwards in Sevens (you are supposed to have 2 props and a hooker) tend to only be flankers, or possibly big centres, as you don't want bulk in such a fast-paced game. However, I think South Africa had a Sevens player who was built like a prop who they used as a battering ram to create holes and then offload; maybe they're starting a trend which will change the game's tactics and require at least one big player on each side.
CUW
Roar Rookie
becsause they played very little 7s - like one season ponys - if recall right even SBW played just a season . there are some who have played a lot of 7s and their transitions into 15s wasnt that great - like Koroi , Baker ! some have been good but not good enuf for test rugger - like Ben Lam ( with NZ) recently saw a league match by accident and pretty sure they had a NZ7s guy on the wing - just cant recall his name !!
woodart
Roar Rookie
the welly sevens was a huge success, UNTIL the fun police arrived to improve? things. within two yrs of their bringdown attitude, it was all over, no more party. now we dont even feature on the circuit we still dominate. As to whether nobody knew about the hong kong sevens, it was sold out. so? . Hamish is living in the past with stories of jonah and cully. sevens is its own specialised circuit now, with less and less crossover with 15s, as michael hooper is finding, and sbw found. if you look at the players, they even have a different body shape, with sevens players being far leaner, lighter and aerobically fitter.
Colvin Brown
Roar Guru
Based on what I've read from you this past few weeks Hamish it must be difficult finding a worthwhile subject to write about.
Hugh_96
Roar Pro
Ok
Busted Fullback
Roar Rookie
Back in the late 80s and 90s we tried to promote 7s in the State High School system in Brisbane. It was played after the League season was finished. It was working well, being pushed by local club development officers. But as teachers transferred and the clubs could not afford DOs, interest fell away. This is sad as I know that there were leaguies at the school where I was who went on to play club rugby. What might have been.
Dusty10
Roar Rookie
I agree mate, the best part of training, and where we developed most of our attacking skills, was touch footy before and after formal training! Loved it. And touch (often tackle) every recess and lunch. You either love rugby and develop the skills because of it, or you don't.
Busted Fullback
Roar Rookie
Funny you should say those things D10. Watching school teams train, there seems to be a lot of agility ladders, and poles and wrestling. My mate and I always started with an old fashioned game of touch. Timing of passes, on both sides, support lines, cover defence were all covered before “training” actually started. And surprisingly, the boys took that into the game. Who’d have thought?
El Gamba
Roar Guru
I don’t think rugby will exist without government funding. Fortunately the government may not recognise the incompetence at RA as their own incompetence is pretty well paralleled
FourwingSweepa
Roar Rookie
I remember that maybe do a 10s weekend after super Rugby
Hugh_96
Roar Pro
Bottom line is you can’t push someone to like something. I enjoy watching both the men & women’s rugby 7s. But don’t look at it as better or worse than 15s, I just enjoy the athleticism & skill as much as a sports fan as a rugby fan. In reality we got into it by accident. We started watching the women 7s at Tahs half time then saw the Oz women exhibition games at the Sydney 7s where the men lost to NZ in the final. Later that year was Rio Gold for women. We have been on board both men & women ever since. In Australia there is a reasonable link between men 7s and Super rugby. Would argue part of Toole’s success is a result of his season in 7s. Rugby 7s does build skills, it was noted Michael Hooper doesn’t have the passing skills of the other players. It is a reflection of the hyper competitive sports landscape in Australia & the change in sports news reporting that no one knows the 7s players. Sports reporting now is about reporting popular news not reporting news. Toss in media outlets report on sports that they have broadcasting for. Getting coverage is hard. Also rugby needs to have a differentiator to NRL/AFL, rugby 7s World Series & Olympics provides something. In Australia 7s is a little different in that the government provides funding for Olympic sports & you get more depending on your chances of delivering Gold. So the women get a lot more $$ than the men. With RA broke 7s probably wouldn’t exist without Govt funding.
Dusty10
Roar Rookie
I'm sorry, but this article is simply ridiculous. Sevens is a great game, no doubt. I love it. But suggesting that we need sevens to "prepare" or "fix" our players is ludicrous. It teaches you to pass?? What?? I pass a rugby ball every other day, to mates, my kids, my wife (usually when she's not looking), when playing touch footy etc etc. Mostly, you learn to pass at TRAINING, or when mucking about with your mates. I spiral pass from both sides and short pass leaning in the opposite direction because I just bloody love playing rugby, not because I play sevens. Same story with evasive skills, same story with structuring attack. You should just bloody know where to be, usually by developing rugby knowledge and feel over time, and it gets even better when you play with the same players a lot. Sevens is brilliant and rugby needs it, but saying it's better than Super for preparing our players who developed those base skills IN HIGH SCHOOL is insane.
Wrecked 'em
Roar Rookie
When you extrapolate NZ-centric, you get NZ-centric.
Dionysus
Roar Rookie
"What's the point of Sevens?" Its not AFL nor 'A' League. Nothing else needed.
Andy J
Roar Rookie
You could try to extrapolate the information, it might be applicable in more than one country