Olympic sevens review
Campbell Burnes reviews the compelling gold and silver medal displays from our national sevens teams at the Olympics, two fine campaigns that had moments of high drama.
we analyse what went right for the black Ferns sevens in Tokyo, and how the All Blacks Sevens came close to gold.
Most of new Zealand was on the edge of its seat during the heart-stopping Olympic women’s sevens semifinal against Fiji.
It was 17-all going into extra time. But Stacey Fluhler had, like most of her teammates, a calm feeling that was not readily apparent from the TV.
“we gave new Zealand a heart attack but credit to Fiji for pushing us like that. It wasn’t stressful for us. I never once felt we were going to lose it. we had so much trust and belief in one another,” says Fluhler who, though used as a sub in the big matches, played a significant role in the Black Ferns Sevens’ triumph.
gayle Broughton, one of the key composed players, scored the winning try to see them into the final, where they were too good, 26-12, for France.
They had also come under the cosh in the pool match against great Britain, shrugging off some uncharacteristic efforts and a 21-0 deficit to roar home 26-21.
The Black Ferns Sevens have carried all before them for most of the five years since the rio Olympics, sometimes reaching sublime heights. But it was unrealistic for them to hit perfection at the Olympics before zero crowds, in sizzling heat and humidity, with limited game time in 2021 and missing their ‘hard yards’ player niall williams.
“Perfection is not a reality in sevens, it’s 14-minute games, seven-minute halves. There are bound to be things that don’t go your way, and that’s exactly what happened against great Britain and Fiji. They pushed us, but the girls’ ability to stay calm, stay composed in those pressure moments… that’s the beauty of this team. we practised for those moments,” Fluhler says.
Fluhler herself was, like Kelly Brazier, used as a utility sub through most of the tournament. Some may have thought she should have started more often, but the woman herself, who scored the last try of the final off a nice cut with Tyla Nathanwong, was not fazed.
“I just wanted to do my role. unless you are Sarah Hirini or Tyla, no one can last 14 minutes and be at peak performance.”
Things were different in Tokyo, from the mechanised gadget for dropping off the match ball, to no games in the middle of the day, to only one verse of the anthem being played, to iffy officiating. The Black Ferns Sevens just had to adapt. The lack of crowds turned out to be a good thing.
“It was a new experience for everyone. we were gutted that there were no crowds, but you could actually hear each other’s voices on the field. It was a positive for us in making our games better,” says Fluhler.
Co-coaches Allan Bunting and Cory Sweeney were the unobtrusive guiding hands for this team, helping them change perspective, giving them licence to try things and not be fearful of mistakes. The empowerment of the players was critical in winning the big moments and extricating themselves from trouble in Tokyo. There was a discernible lack of panic.
Hirini was extraordinary throughout the event, but in the final stood tallest: leading from the front, making no errors and making the right decisions at the right time. It was a captain’s knock to rival anything that richie Mccaw has done for the All Blacks.
“She is one wahine toa whom we can all look up to,” says Fluhler.
“you can see it in her face what she wants from us. She is so calm and gets those crucial turnovers in the moments that we need. She is just an inspiration to us all and I have so much love and respect for her.”
Fluhler was in MIQ, very near her gold medal, when
Rugby News spoke to her. She was looking forward to a short break in rarotonga with her husband. She was unlikely to play any Farah Palmer Cup for waikato, as is the case with most of the team, all in need of a break to recharge. Beyond that, nothing is set in concrete.
The Black Ferns Sevens are due in Dubai and Cape Town in December for the opening two tournaments of the 2021-22 Sevens world Series, and 2022 looms as an even bigger year with the Commonwealth games, rwc Sevens and the women’s rugby world Cup in new Zealand.
“We have to go with the flow. We cannot control what might happen with MIQ. It’s all about opportunity for me and whichever one comes, I’ll jump at it. If I have the ability to play all three pinnacle events in 2022, that would be a dream come true for me.”
Another dream come true, she might have added.
‘The empowerment of the players was critical in winning the big moments and extricating themselves from trouble in Tokyo.’
The All Blacks Sevens’ Olympics campaign can be summed up as a very good tournament that fell at the final hurdle, 27-12, to an irrepressible defending champion Fiji in the gold medal match.
“There’s been a lot of reflection after the tournament,” says coach Clark Laidlaw.
“There are mixed emotions and we were disappointed to lose the final. There were two or three moments which we didn’t get right and they got right. But there was pride in what we achieved in the last 4-5 years.”
Under pressure early in their pool matches against Argentina and Australia, they stayed calm and then blitzed Canada and Great Britain in the playoffs before hitting Fiji, where early errors were severely punished.
To the fore throughout the three days was captain Scott Curry, who scored some outstanding tries and whose work-rate was top-notch, and the versatile Andrew Knewstubb, who was consistency personified, though he will be kicking himself for a bad error in the final.
“I thought Stubbsy was outstanding. He’s like a hooker, halfback and standoff all rolled into one position. He touched the ball more than anyone and, alongside, Ngarohi Mcgarvey-black, ran the team really well,” says Laidlaw.
Knewstubb’s kickoffs were invariably on the money, he threw the ball into lineouts and kicked the goals, not to mention scoring tries.
Curry was unflustered and accurate, much like his Black Ferns Sevens counterpart Sarah Hirini. Laidlaw feels he played some of his best sevens since the triumphant 2018 Commonwealth Games. Certainly, Curry’s try against Fiji, off a double-round move with Regan Ware, was a beauty.
“I thought we played excellent sevens for most of the tournament. The group showed calmness and composure in tricky games against Argentina and Australia. That was pleasing. Canada and Great Britain were as clinical as we have played in a wee while. But that’s the challenge of a sevens tournament, to be there for six games, not five and a half.”
On reflection, it was a fair effort from the All Blacks Sevens. They took a major step forward from Rio 2016 and will now not lack for edge heading to Paris 2024. Certain favoured teams crashed out, like the South African men and Australian women.
As it stands, the decision was made that Laidlaw’s charges will not contest the two World Series tournaments in Canada in September or in Singapore next month, not with the necessity of 14 days in MIQ again on the way home. So on that basis, victory in the 2021-22 series will be a tall order. But all sevens roads in 2022 lead to the Commonwealth Games and RWC Sevens.
In the meantime, other than Caleb Clarke, a travelling reserve in Tokyo, and Amanaki Nicole, who will play NPC, it is ‘feet up time’ for the All Blacks Sevens. They did well, but not quite as well as they, or the country, hoped.