By far the greatest sevens nations in history, it would be easy to argue that the All Blacks Sevens are the greatest team of all-time, across all sports.
They have been crowned World Series champions 13 times, winning 12 of the first 15 editions. They have also won five of six Commonwealth Games gold medals, and have won the World Cup Sevens on three occasions, including the past two.
There are however, two pieces of silverware missing from their enormous cabinet, the Olympic gold and an Oceania Sevens title. This weekend, they look to rectify one of those absences.
The Kiwis have named a strong line-up, which includes their entire Commonwealth Games gold medal winning team.
All but two players in the squad competed on the World Series last season, with New Zealand claiming the title after three wins, a second and third place finish.
In a team filled with veterans, no one has put there hand up more than Tim Mikkelson. The 34-year-old, who debuted in 2007, has played 459 World Series matches, more than anyone else (tied with Dan Norton). In that span he has amassed 235 tries, to sit third on the all-time list.
Along with Kurt Baker, they are the only two on the team to have won two Commonwealth Games gold medals, both being in the side that beat Australia at Delhi 2010.
The team is led by Scott Curry who has been playing for New Zealand for over a decade, and has collected an impressive number of trophies. He played a pivotal role last season, and was the only Kiwi named the World Series Dream Team.
Their coach may be a Scot, but his rugby education was certainly New Zealand based. Clark Laidlaw, who won a Commonwealth bronze medal in 2006, has guided the team since June 2017, when he took over from Gordon Tietjens. Under his direction, the team won their first World Series since 2014.
New Zealand particularly has an impressive record against Australia. Their current win streak stands at 17 matches, one away from their all-time best. They also dominated Australia last month in the Trans-Tasman series, sweeping the Aussies 6-0.
However, against the Fijians, their record is merely average. Over a 23-year span, the Kiwis have just edged Fiji in total number of wins. Their last match against Fiji was in March 2020 in the Cup Quarter Finals of the Vancouver Sevens. New Zealand won 17-5, and went on to win the Cup, defeating Australia in the final by three.
New Zealand will be the favourites at this year’s Oceania Sevens, and you can clearly see why. But with the unpredictability of Fiji and the unknown from Oceania, it will be interesting to see if they can finally win their maiden Oceania title.
Squad:
Kurt Baker, Caleb Clarke, Dylan Collier, Scott Curry (c), Sam Dickson, Trael Joass, Andrew Knewstubb, Vilimoni Koroi, Ngarohi McGarvey-Black, Tim Mikkelson, Sione Molia, Etene Nanai-Seturo, Tone Ng Shiu, Amanaki Nicole, Akuila Rokolisoa, William Warbrick, Regan Ware, Joe Webber, Kitiona Vai
