Six players from 15s who could help New Zealand 7s win Paris gold

The All Blacks and Black Ferns Sevens have explicitly stated their top priority in 2024 is to win the Olympic gold medal in Paris.

Both teams are reigning World Series champions and appear largely settled. However neither won tournaments in the first two rounds of the HSBC SVNS this year.

While it’s hardly time to panic it’s clear several rivals have upped the ante which begs the question, what additions could be made to enhance both New Zealand teams?

Antoine Dupont is set to turbo charge France’s bid to capture a gold medal on home soil when he joins the French team on the field in 2024.

Superstar fifteens converts haven’t necessarily been a success in the recent past. Both Sonny Bill Williams and Caleb Clarke bombed for New Zealand in 2016 and 2021 respectively. However, given a choice what talent would you like to see crossover?

Salesi Rayasi 

The 1.94cm, 105kg speedster has matured into an efficient finisher with 40 tries in 53 games for Auckland and 22 tries in 39 appearances for the Hurricanes. It’s unlikely he’ll threaten the All Blacks with a resurgent Kini Naholo making a serious bid for his starting left-wing jersey in the Hurricanes. Rayasi had success previously with the All Blacks Sevens and still has the pace and power to be a real handful in the shorter format of the game.

Etene Nanai-Seturo

Another with past experience in the All Black Sevens, Nanai-Seturo recently won the Duane Monkley medal as the best player in the NPC. While he’s established himself as a starter on the left wing for the Chiefs he appears a long way down the pecking order for All Blacks selection. Why not give Paris a nudge then? Is there a player with better footwork in New Zealand than Nanai-Seturo? His ability to beat players one one-on-one with a sidestep opens up all kinds of possibilities.

Billy Harmon

The Highlanders captain is criminally underrated. Though he’s been in the All Blacks environment, he hasn’t played a Test and doesn’t look likely to in the foreseeable future. Canterbury didn’t have a vintage season in NPC 2023 winning just six of 11 matches, but Harmon was in superlative form. He was a powerful presence with ball in hand making the most carries (143) and offloads (47) for Canterbury. Harmon was a menace at the breakdown and with 175 tackles was second to teammate Tom Christe (183) on the overall NPC tackle list. With some ‘sevens’ conditioning’ Harmon could become a really useful forward. He has all the necessary skills to be a weapon on defence and offensive in the closer quarters.

Hoskins Sotutu

Sotutu went from All Black to outcast following Super Rugby 2023 when he wasn’t even named in the All Blacks XV squad to tour Japan. He had a good NPC for Counties Manukau being named Steelers Player of the Year. With his height and athleticism Sotutu could be a wonderful Sevens exponent. So much of Sevens is winning kickoffs and lineouts. Sotutu could do this well in addition to running more freely, drawing in defenders and getting his offload game going.

Holly Wratt-Groeneweg

The 19-year-old flanker was selected for the Black Ferns XV this year following some spectacular performances in her debut season for Canterbury in the Farah Palmer Cup (FPC). In the semi-final against  Hawke’s Bay, she scored a hat-trick in a dozen minutes while a fortnight earlier against Counties Manukau she burst 40 metres in a memorable solo effort. It was a real surprise then to see her name absent from the Super Rugby Aupiki squad lists. Wratt-Groeneweg has been compared to Jorja Miller. Both are products of Christchurch Girls’ High School.

Angelica Mekemeke Vahai 

Auckland won the FPC Premiership for the first time since 2015 this year and their breakout star was graceful winger Angelica Mekemeke-Vahai. She scored a dozen tries and topped the team in metres run (844), defenders beaten (59), and clean breaks (15). Still, at high school, Mekemeke Vahai is gifted with rare pace and agility. With greater physical maturity she could flourish in both forms of the game for a long time.