Born in 7s - How some RWC 2023 finalists honed their skills

While the weather in Paris is expected to be wet and not conducive to expansive rugby, there will be a number of players turning out in the Rugby World Cup final that will be hoping they get an opportunity to stretch their legs a bit, as they did on their way to the top.

It’s a rare few individuals who have been able to transfer the required skills from sevens to fifteens rugby at the highest level, but this weekend when rivals South Africa and New Zealand face off, there will be six players who have all at some point represented their respective countries and honed their skills in the exciting, condensed version of the game.

Two of which were even teammates and medalled at the Olympics.

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Here’s a look at how each of these players who, in a past life, were rugby sevens stars and have since made successful transitions from the fast-paced, high-intensity world of sevens to the traditional game of fifteens.

Rieko Ioane

Now an established centre who will start for the All Blacks this weekend, Ioane burst onto the Sevens scene at the age of just 17-years-old, making his mark at the 2014-2015 World Rugby Sevens Series.

A year later he turned out for the New Zealand Sevens team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, ultimately losing to eventual winners Fiji in the quarter final.

In November 2016 he was elevated to the senior team and made his debut for the All Blacks at the age of 19-years-old, becoming the eighth youngest All Blacks debutant. He’s now still just 26-years-old, but has already amassed 68 senior test caps for his country, including 36 tries.

His speed, power and eye for the gap made him a devastating sevens player, but also allowed him to transfer those skills to fifteens, along with his brother Akira at Auckland, and now finds himself on the brink of Rugby World Cup glory.

Kwagga Smith

Albertus Stephanus, known to everyone as simply Kwagga, played for the U20 Baby Boks at the 2013 Junior World Championship, finishing third before representing the Blitzboks Sevens team on the World Sevens Series between 2013 - 2017.

A tough as nails competitor, Smith brought an edge to a Sevens team that achieved a lot of success in the period, winning Gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and then a Bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Transitioning successfully to fifteens, Smith found himself in the loose forwards and due to the requirements of the 7s game, where you cannot hide, has become a formidable tackler, ball-handler and a real force at the breakdown.

Perhaps the unsung hero of the Springboks’ 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign, Smith is finally starting to get his dues as his impactful performances from the bench, as part of South Africa’s ‘bomb squad’, have made him an invaluable member of the current setup.

Known as having the best “battle stats” in the squad (a unique system the Springboks use to measure positive impacts in a match), Smith has clearly taken his extensive Sevens experience and applied that to fifteens, with his versatility allowing the Springboks to experiment with the likes of the infamous 7-1 split on the bench, as he can cover as a loose forward replacement and also very much anywhere in the back.

He was part of the 2019 Rugby World Cup winning squad and is one of 14 South African players aiming to claim their second title when they face New Zealand this coming weekend.

Ardie Savea

This week named as one of four nominees of the World Rugby Player of the Year award, bruising number eight Savea is the lifeblood of the New Zealand forwards pack.

A versatile loose forward, the younger brother of former All Blacks winger Julian started his career with the New Zealand Sevens team in the 2012-2013 season at the age of 19.

He played a total of 8 tournaments in the World Rugby Sevens Series, forming part of a dangerous team that had a perfect mix of speed and power, two words synonymous with the Wellington man who has just celebrated his 30th birthday.

Known for his incredible work rate and aggressive presence at the breakdown, Savea’s full time transition to fifteens resulted in him making his All Blacks debut against Wales in 2016, replacing current captain Sam Cane from the bench.

With a seamless transition, he’s gone on to win 80 test caps and is considered a vital cog in an All Blacks machine that hopes to claim their fourth Rugby World Cup title on Saturday.

Interestingly, at one point Savea, Ioane and legend Sonny Bill Williams were all part of the same New Zealand Sevens team.

Kurt-lee Arendse

Capped just 14 times, the former sevens flyer is a relative newcomer to international test rugby but has made an immediate impact, scoring 13 tries in his 14 caps and leapfrogging a number of very talented and dangerous wingers for a coveted Springboks starting spot on the wing.

Often compared to the more experienced Cheslin Kolbe, Arendse also made a name for himself on the sevens circuit with his outstanding footwork, speed and acceleration as part of the Blitzboks, after being noticed at the 2019 Varsity Cup Sevens.

Weighing somewhere around the 80kg mark, Arendse was perfect for sevens and made his debut in 2019, serving two years with the South African sevens side before getting fully recognised for his lethal finishing ability in fifteens.

“We small players like to be underestimated, but at the same we like to prove people wrong. Whenever we get the opportunity, we look to do that,” he says.

“Obviously guys are bigger, but they move really slow! They have their weaknesses, so you look to capitalise on those.”

Arendse has credited sevens as having helped him with his skills development, tackling and defence in general.

Beauden Barrett

While not known as a sevens player, lighting-fast Barrett did actually have a brief and impactful stint with the New Zealand sevens team as a teenager in 2010, playing in the final two legs of the Sevens World Series.

As a 19-year-old he was selected for Taranaki in the ITM Cup that same year, and his storied fifteens career was off to the races.

Now capped for the All Blacks an incredible 122 times, Barrett was a natural sevens player due to his phenomenal speed off the mark and eye for the gap.

He won back-to-back World Rugby Player of the Year Awards in 2016 and 2017, and despite having been moved from number ten to fullback, has been a stable of the All Blacks since making his debut in 2012.

Already a RWC 2015 winner, if given the opportunity in open space, Barrett has shown on multiple occasions that he is lethal with ball in hand and will look to take those chances against the Springboks.

Perhaps fifteens’ gain was sevens’ loss, as it would have been quite a sight to see him tearing up the turf with so much space at his disposal.

Cheslin Kolbe

The electrifying winger of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and indeed the final, Kolbe first made an impact on the sevens scene between 2012 and 2017.

His dazzling footwork and speed off the mark made him a top performer for the Blitzboks and he was actually teammates with Kwagga Smith at the 2016 Olympics, winning bronze.

Kolbe was always up against the odds in South Africa, where size was traditionally favoured, and he at one point felt like playing for his country in test rugby was simply not going to happen.

He moved overseas to play in France, soon garnering attention for some thrilling performances for Toulouse, and the rest is history. One might say that his story has actually paved the way for the likes of Kurt-lee Arendse, somewhat of a Kolbe clone, to have a smoother path to the top.

Playing sevens refined his footwork and ability to exploit open spaces, and Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber acknowledged his sevens experience this week in the lead up to the world cup final, where Kolbe will act as scrum half cover for Faf de Klerk, due to the Springboks’ aforementioned 7-1 split on the bench.

"He played sweeper in sevens which is the equivalent to scrum-half. He has always been a guy who, if we got a yellow card, would be the stand in half-back, not just this week but for a couple of weeks.”

Kolbe himself has reiterated those sentiments.

“Whatever plan the coaches have, it is up to the players to buy into it as soon as possible. For me, with a bit of a sevens background, I have played at scrum-half or sweeper, as we call it, and I have played one or two games internationally at scrum-half.

"Faf has given me some input to make sure I am up to standard in case I am in that position tomorrow night, but I am sure Faf will carry us through to the end. Whatever position I am playing, it is just to have a positive impact on the game for the Springboks jersey and my team mates.”

Whether on the sevens or fifteens field, Kolbe has inspired many a young player, particularly those smaller in stature, to believe that anything is possible.

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Earlier in the world cup we also saw former All Blacks Sevens representatives Salesi Piutau and Fritz Lee turning out for Tonga and Samoa respectively.

The presence of players who’ve thrived in both sevens and fifteens rugby reminds us of the enduring legacy of sevens rugby and its role in shaping the future stars of the game.

It has and always will be a great pathway for players to not only make a name for themselves, but also refine their development and hone their skills, making them better rugby players and in some special cases, even leading to representing their countries in the Rugby World Cup final.