Resilience & redemption: New Zealand prove they’re the world’s best

Interviewing Shiray Kaka is an entertaining experience. In response to questions about the SVNS Series, the New Zealander has asked this writer in return about gherkin, Chick-fil-A and how it felt to watch Australia lose the Hong Kong Sevens Cup Final.

But from all the fun and interesting replies during three interviews this year, one question and response stands out from the rest. In Vancouver, Kaka was asked about the Black Ferns Sevens’ uncharacteristically poor start to the season.

“Not the greatest, you can say it, you can say it. We’ve lost every tournament,” Kaka told RugbyPass at BC Place Stadium. The defending overall Series champions hadn’t won a single title from any of the three events to open the 2023/24 season.

New Zealand were beaten by fierce rivals Australia 24-17 in the Dubai Sevens final to open their account for the season before falling to a surprise loss in the SVNS Cape Town semi-finals seven days later.

In January, the New Zealanders fell to their worst finish of the season after suffering a frustrating 24-14 defeat to Australia in Perth. The Aussies had lost to Great Britain in pool play which set them on the course to play their neighbours from across the ditch.

Jorja Miller and Maddison Levi were both red carded for high tackles during that enthralling knockout clash between two great rivals. Charlotte Caslick and Dominique Du Toit scored late tries which sent the Western Australian crowd into a frenzy.

Australia had proven themselves as the best women’s sevens team in the world.

But six months on, New Zealand stepped onto the Olympics podium at Stade de France in triumph. They had just beaten Canada 19-12 in the gold medal match as they claimed back-to-back championships at the Games.

Team New Zealand had won gold for the first time in women’s sevens in Tokyo three years ago but their status as the top dogs in sevens changed the following year as Australia took control. The Aussies won gold at the Commonwealth Games, Rugby Sevens World Cup and the Series' overall title.

While the Kiwis bounced back in a big way in 2022/23 by winning almost every event on what was then called the World Series, the following season was always going to be key.

Teams wanted to build in time for the Olympics and Australia started in front.

The Aussies won in Dubai and Cape Town, and made the final in Perth after beating Trans-Tasman foe in the quarters, which saw them sit comfortably on top of the overall standings. But the next leg was Vancouver, and that brings us back to Shiray Kaka.

Kaka, 29, was dropped for SVNS Perth but returned to the fold for the two-tournament trip to North America. The Tokyo Olympics gold medallist scored three tries in wins over Brazil and South Africa to help the Kiwis start on a winning note in Canada.

New Zealand went on to win in Vancouver.

They won again the following week in Los Angeles. That’s when Kaka asked about gherkin and Chick-fil-A during an on-camera interview, just in case anyone is interested.

The Black Ferns Sevens continued to dominate with a win over Australia in the Hong Kong Sevens Cup Final in April, and the rivals went head-to-head in the Singapore decider a month later, with the women in black winning that one as well.

New Zealand recovered from a slow start on the Series to take out the League title. By winning that final over Australia in Singapore, they finished two competition points ahead of their rivals on the overall standings.

That was one job done.

But there was still another big prize up for grabs on the SVNS Series.

With it all to play for at the winner-takes-all Grand Final at Madrid’s Civitas Metropolitano, the New Zealanders annihilated Great Britain 49-14 before stumbling with a 17-26 loss to Canada during the pool stage.

Just like Perth, that set them on a crash course with Australia.

New Zealand were the best team in women’s sevens for 13 minutes in their semi-final against Australia, but sevens is cruel and unforgiving. Speedsters Faith Nathan and Maddison Levi scored tries to level the scores at 19-all with time up on the clock.

With a spot in the Championship Final on the line, Sydneysider Tia Hinds lined up a shot at goal under the Spanish sun. The 21-year-old slotted the tough kick to send Australia into the big one, which they won to secure the overall SVNS Series crown.

Disaster had stuck for the Kiwis.

Almost two months passed before they had an opportunity to make amends on the world’s biggest sporting stage. With captain Sarah Hirini back from injury, they started perfectly with a 43-5 win over China and a comprehensive 33-7 victory against Canada.

The Kiwis ended up qualifying for the semi-finals after winning four matches on the bounce, and so did Australia. That led former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper to tempt fate by mentioning the Aussies would play the Kiwis in the gold medal match if they got that far.

Rio Olympics gold medallist Alicia Lucas had also described the possibility of an Australia versus New Zealand decider as a “fairytale” clash for gold, but it wasn’t to be in the end.

New Zealand got there but Australia did not.

It wasn’t easy but the New Zealanders looked a class above in a 24-12 semi-final win over the United States. As for Australia, errors and poor discipline began to creep into their performance as they went down 21-12 to Canada.

New Zealand once again put on a show in the decider to pull away from Canada 19-12. The reality of winning gold began to sink with about 30 seconds left to play after one of the Canadian players knocked the ball on.

They were clinical on both sides of the ball and were deservedly rewarded with gold.

As for Australia, it was the same story from their semi-final. They took an early but they lacked precision and execution as they allowed the USA to claw their way back.

When looking back at that match, one moment that stands out was Sariah Paki dropping the ball cold over the try line with no defenders nearby. Australia still managed to take the lead soon after but that just goes to show the team didn’t look like themselves in that playoff.

With time almost up on the clock, the USA’s Alex Sedrick broke Australian hearts by breaking off a few defenders to run coast-to-coast to the house. The conversion secured Team USA’s historic rugby sevens medal and had Australian players in tears.

But as the dust settles on that Olympics campaign and sevens goes into its off-season, it’s a good time to reflect on how everything played out.

New Zealand were a class above for most of the SVNS Series. If sevens was a 13-minute game, they would’ve made the Championship Final at least - but they would've been favourites to win it. But Australia did enough to famously win that semi-final in the Spanish capital.

New Zealand bounced back on the biggest stage of all, though.

They were both classy and clinical, with returning skipper Sarah Hirini adding invaluable experience to this group. Jazmin Felix-Hotham, Jorja Miller and Michaela Blyde were superstars once again, while Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Tyla King bowed out as heroes.

As for Australia, there were just too many errors.

Those mistakes build up and it can be tough to overcome the pressure that they bring. Sevens fans saw that on the SVNS Series and it was the same story in front of a record-breaking crowd at the Paris Olympic Games.

And what an Olympics it was.

There were upsets and surprises for sure, but at the end of the tournament, the best team in the world walked away on Tuesday smiling. The New Zealand players were fully deserving of the gold medals they all had draped around their necks.