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All Blacks Sevens star Leroy Carter signs with Super Rugby Pacific club

Leroy Carter of New Zealand celebrates his try during Madrid Rugby Sevens at Civitas Metropolitano Stadium on Jun 01, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Alberto Gardin/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

HSBC SVNS Series sensation Leroy Carter has left the All Blacks Sevens to pursue an opportunity in Super Rugby Pacific with the Chiefs. Carter has signed a deal with last season’s runners-up that spans until the end of 2026.

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Carter has been a marvel for the All Blacks Sevens for the last couple of seasons, with the 25-year-old receiving a nomination for World Rugby’s Player of the Year honour in 2023. The Kiwi backed that up with consistently strong performances on the Series in 2023/24.

While injuries played Carter’s playing time on the international circuit during an Olympic year, the Tauranga-born talent was on song practically every time he ran onto the rugby sevens field in the coveted black jersey.

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Argentina’s Marcos Moneta, Antoine Dupont from France and Ireland’s Terry Kennedy were all sensational whenever they got the chance to play in the SVNS Series last season. Many would consider that trio, and others, to be in the ‘world’s best’ conversation with Carter.

But a new chapter is waiting to be written in Carter’s storied career. Following New Zealand’s disappointing finish at the Paris Olympic Games, the Bay of Plenty utility back has signed on with the Chiefs for the next two Super Rugby seasons.

“It’s hard leaving a team like the All Blacks Sevens,” Leroy Carter said in a statement.

“It’s a team that I’m grateful for as they have done so much for me, but I’m looking forward to what’s ahead.

“The Chiefs have been a team I have always wanted to play for since I was a young kid so it’s an exciting time for me. I can’t wait to get in and work.”

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Carter may have proven himself as a world-class talent on the SVNS Series but he’s no stranger to the world of 15s, either. The Kiwi played for the New Zealand U20s and New Zealand Barbarians some years ago, and he’s also played in four previous NPC seasons.

The one-time Olympian has gotten his fifth provincial campaign underway with Bay of Plenty after starting on the right wing in the win over North Harbour last weekend. Harbour had the likes of Wallace Sititi, Tane Edmed and Shaun Stevenson playing for them.

Bay of Plenty will look to keep their unbeaten start to the season alive when they take on Otago at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium on Sunday. Carter has been named to wear the No. 14 jumper once again, with that team boasting genuine star power.

“Leroy has always been a player of immense talent, showcased in recent seasons with the All Blacks Sevens team and Bay of Plenty,” Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan said in a statement.

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“We love his competitive edge, abrasive style, and that he is a legitimate hybrid player – comfortable on both the wing or at halfback. We can’t wait for him to get amongst it in Chiefs colours.”

Carter will play the rest of the provincial season with Bay of Plenty before assembling with the Chiefs later this year to prepare for the team’s Super Rugby title push in 2025.

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2 Comments
E
EatBreath7s 120 days ago

Sad loss for the AB7s, "punched" above his weight on the field, only hope is that he gets lots of game time for the chiefs

B
B.J. Spratt 120 days ago

Super Rugby Pacific is a shit rugby competition, since South African teams have left.


Each week we watch it, half the stands are empty. It's poorly promoted and it loses money faster than " A Mark in a brothel with a fist full of fifties"


Mind you the NZRFU made a loss of $9 million for 2023. That F wit Robinson tries to justify his shocking record as a CEO, with all sorts of flakey Bull Shit, that the Board swallows with great gusto.


Well I can tell you one that doesn't swallow and that is Silver Lake.


One day we all wake up to, NZRFU in liquidation or Silver Lake takes over NZRFU.


Mark Robinson: What part of "Not Fit For Purpose" don't you understand.


D
DS 120 days ago

This is the future of the bench. Reece could do the same at he Crusaders - halfback and back three. The losers might be the second halfback, like Rowe at the Chiefs. Carter will be an interesting watch at the Chiefs.

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JW 28 minutes ago
Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

I rated Lowe well enough to be an AB. Remember we were picking the likes of George Bridge above such players so theres no disputing a lot of bad decisions have been made by those last two coaches. Does a team like the ABs need a finicky winger who you have to adapt and change a lot of your style with to get benefit from? No, not really. But he still would have been a basic improvement on players like even Savea at the tail of his career, Bridge, and could even have converted into the answer of replacing Beauden at the back. Instead we persisted with NMS, Naholo, Havili, Reece, all players we would have cared even less about losing and all because Rieko had Lowe's number 11 jersey nailed down.


He was of course only 23 when he decided to leave, it was back in the beggining of the period they had started retaining players (from 2018 onwards I think, they came out saying theyre going to be more aggressive at some point). So he might, all of them, only just missed out.


The main point that Ed made is that situations like Lowe's, Aki's, JGP's, aren't going to happen in future. That's a bit of a "NZ" only problem, because those players need to reach such a high standard to be chosen by the All Blacks, were as a country like Ireland wants them a lot earlier like that. This is basically the 'ready in 3 years' concept Ireland relied on, versus the '5 years and they've left' concept' were that player is now ready to be chosen by the All Blacks (given a contract to play Super, ala SBW, and hopefully Manu).


The 'mercenary' thing that will take longer to expire, and which I was referring to, is the grandparents rule. The new kids coming through now aren't going to have as many gp born overseas, so the amount of players that can leave with a prospect of International rugby offer are going to drop dramatically at some point. All these kiwi fellas playing for a PI, is going to stop sadly.


The new era problem that will replace those old concerns is now French and Japanese clubs (doing the same as NRL teams have done for decades by) picking kids out of school. The problem here is not so much a national identity one, than it is a farm system where 9 in 10 players are left with nothing. A stunted education and no support in a foreign country (well they'll get kicked out of those countries were they don't in Australia).


It's the same sort of situation were NZ would be the big guy, but there weren't many downsides with it. The only one I can think was brought up but a poster on this site, I can't recall who it was, but he seemed to know a lot of kids coming from the Islands weren't really given the capability to fly back home during school xms holidays etc. That is probably something that should be fixed by the union. Otherwise getting someone like Fakatava over here for his last year of school definitely results in NZ being able to pick the cherries off the top but it also allows that player to develop and be able to represent Tonga and under age and possibly even later in his career. Where as a kid being taken from NZ is arguably going to be worse off in every respect other than perhaps money. Not going to develop as a person, not going to develop as a player as much, so I have a lotof sympathy for NZs case that I don't include them in that group but I certainly see where you're coming from and it encourages other countries to think they can do the same while not realising they're making a much worse experience/situation.

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