Rising star Payton Spencer sets sights on Olympics after 'special' final

After winning his first World Series event with the All Blacks Sevens in Sydney, rising star Payton Spencer reaffirmed his desire to represent New Zealand on the biggest sporting stage of all.

Heralded as a future superstar of the sport, as he begins to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father Carlos Spencer, the 18-year-old has lived up to any and all expectations so far.

Spencer signed a two-year deal with the All Blacks Sevens earlier this month; with this news dominating rugby headlines in New Zealand for days.

The hype was very real, as the son of Carlos looked to embark on his own journey in the black jersey.

Spencer was named to make the trip across the Tasman for the Sydney Sevens – which was also his first trip across the ditch to neighbouring country Australia.

While every New Zealand rugby team plays under immense pressure and scrutiny whenever they take the field, the teenager wasn’t feeling the heat.

Showcasing attacking flair, dominant defence and an abundance of pace, the prodigy did the black jersey justice every time he ran out to the hallowed turf of Allianz Stadium.

The All Blacks Sevens won two of their three pool matches; having lost to fierce rivals South Africa in a thriller.

But Spencer continued to reap the rewards of his teammates’ scintillating attack, as the New Zealanders found their mojo once again in the knockout rounds.

New Zealand avenged their loss to South Africa in the Cup Final, which they won 38-nil. To say they were dominant is an understatement.

Spencer had played his first tournament on the Sevens World Series, and was already a champion.

With his gold medal draped around his neck, the generational talent was in-demand after the match – even filming a quick video for World Rugby to preview the LA Sevens.

But you couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, as Spencer began to reflect on his first event in the black jersey, and what he wants to accomplish in the future.

“To play my first tournament, I’ve only been in the team for what three weeks? Then getting called up to play in Sydney, it’s pretty surreal at the moment,” Spencer told RugbyPass.

“What a first trip to Aussie I’d say. To win this tournament is special.

“I want to strive for the Olympics which is next year, but smaller than that just focus on making more tournaments,” he added.

“Just keep improving, keep working hard, and hopefully make some more tournaments.

“Obviously (the) Olympics is one of the biggest sporting tournaments in the world, if not the biggest.

“So to make that and see individual athletes that are the best at what they do would be unbelievable, and obviously to try and get a gold Olympic medal would be unbelievable.”

The All Blacks Sevens fell painfully short of Cup Final glory in front of their home fans in Hamilton last weekend, having lost to Argentina 14-12.

But as captain Sam Dickson told RugbyPass during the Sydney event, the agony and disappointment of that defeat “added fuel to the fire” ahead of their trip across the ditch.

While Spencer wasn’t part of the playing squad at FMG Stadium Waikato, he was there – and experienced the feeling of defeat alongside his teammates.

“Yeah walking onto that field was pretty low last week, the boys were pretty down.

“But we knew we had it in us this week, we’ve done everything we could to be the best at what we do so I think to get this win here, and to finally finish off a Final, is pretty special.

“I wouldn’t say we talked about it I’d just say the boys didn’t want to feel that way again.

“This is our third Final in a row, and we’ve lost two out of three of them. This one, finally, we got over the line so it’s pretty special to win.”