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The tool the All Blacks use 'better than anyone else'
By Josh Raisey
Olympic gold-winning sevens coach Ben Ryan has said that these are “worrying times” in the United Kingdom amid sevens’ uncertain future. It comes after 21-year-old Caleb Clarke became one of the latest uncapped players to be called up to the All Blacks squad having previously come through the New Zealand Sevens programme.
New Zealand has a long history of not only dominating the sevens circuit, but also using the format as a vehicle to produce future All Blacks. The former England and Fiji coach Ryan said on Twitter that “Sevens can be such a fantastic tool available to a Union and the All Blacks use it better than anyone else.”
However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the financial pressures that unions find themselves under, the Rugby Football Union cut their funding of the national sevens team last month. Meanwhile, the Welsh Rugby Union recently suspended the Wales Sevens team for the foreseeable future.
Ryan went on to say: “Worrying times for 7s in the UK but still time to have a re-think for those unions and turbo charge their national XV’s programmes.”
New Zealand’s approach to sevens differs from most of the northern hemisphere, and while there has never necessarily been a relationship between the two formats in the UK, for instance, Ryan is not the only person to object to the decision made by the RFU. That is not to say that players have not played both sevens and 15s, but it is not as frequent as it is in New Zealand.
The Blues winger Clarke is just the latest member of a long list of sevens players that have been called up to the All Blacks. In the current squad alone, Beauden Barrett, Rieko Ioane and Ardie Savea are just some of the players who have also represented their country in the seven-man format. This is a system that will continue, and is one that many feel could be replicated.
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It might be legal but he’s sailing pretty close to the wind. Not a lot needs to go wrong for Finau to end up in the bin. Was it late? Not quite, but borderline. High? A couple of CM within the laws, no room for error with that one. Did he wrap the arms? There was a token effort to wrap one arm, the intent was clearly to hit with the shoulder. So yeah, it’s legal, just. But as we all know, a very slight change in the dynamics could easily have him seeing red. Hopefully not when it really matters.
Go to commentsYou forget this is Rassie Erasmus who is still holding the Springbok keys. Even with Felix Jones orchestrating a really tight RWC SF last year. It still wasn't enough to get England past their particular Springbok Monkey in world cups. The reason is FJ was going off of what they did in 2019 not necessarily adapting to current Springboks. So yes, Australia can get passed England because let's be honest, England have a one track strategy, Springboks do not. Even with rush defense I wouldn't be surprised if Rassie continually tweaks it. Also bear in mind Rassie is happy to sacrifice a few mid year and inter World Cup matches to pin point how opposition plays and how to again tweak strategies to get his Springboks in peak performance for the next World Cup. As much as most teams like to win games in front of them and try to win everything, Rassie always makes sure to learn and train for the greatest showdown International Rugby has to offer. Tbh, most people remember World Cup wins and ignore intermediate losses as a result but will remember also WC losses, Ireland, even if they won games in the interim. So even if games are won against the Springboks, it's likely Rassie is just getting a feel for how opposition is moving and adapt accordingly…in time. For Rassie, a loss is never a loss because he uses it as a chance to learn and improve. Sometimes during a game, again like the England match in last year's Semi Final.
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