New Zealand Sevens teams complete "double-double" but it's Black Ferns who promise true greatness

Alex Broun 20:46 23/07/2018
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    • Out on her own - the Black Ferns' Michaela Blyde

    As a non-New Zealander, Sunday’s events at the Rugby World Cup Sevens may have been hard to celebrate.

    In an astonishing feat the All Blacks Sevens followed in the footsteps of their female counterparts, the Black Ferns, by claiming back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles.

    It’s already being called the “double-double” – both teams claiming the top prize at the RWC Sevens in Moscow in 2013 and again in San Francisco this year.

    It becomes the triple-double when you add in the fact that both teams won gold at the Commonwealth Games on the aptly named Gold Coast in Australia in May.

    Perhaps thankfully, NZ missed out on the quadruple-double – as neither side won gold at the Olympics in 2016 – but still their achievement is remarkable.

    For the NZ men’s team, their triumph may have been unexpected, as they finished just third in the recently completed World Series, well behind Fiji and South Africa.

    But for the women’s team, the Black Ferns, there was never any doubt.

    Stung by their failure to win the gold in Rio – and even worse, losing it to their arch-rivals Australia – the “sisters” (as the team refers to themselves) re-built themselves: a task that was achieved in part by the arrival of the 2017 World Rugby Women’s Sevens Player of the Year, Michaela Blyde.

    The Taranaki speedster was the RWC Sevens’ top try-scorer with nine five-pointers, closely followed by team mate Portia Woodman on six.

    Up until Blyde’s arrival, Woodman was peerless as the most exciting runner in women’s rugby – now she finds herself eclipsed by her countrywoman.

    Both Blyde and Woodman were included in the Dream Team at the conclusion of the tournament along with captain Sarah Goss.

    But in truth it could have been any or all of the Black Ferns’ squad of 12 – such is the depth and quality.

    When NZ were momentarily in trouble in the semi-final against the USA, the only team who actually scored a point against them in the whole tournament, it was reserve player Gayle Broughton who came up with the crucial long-range score.

    The Black Ferns are a class above any of their opponents currently, even the Olympic champions Australia, and are arguably the greatest sporting team on the planet at the moment.

    It’s a big claim but the Black Ferns are that good. If you don’t believe me – check them out for yourself.

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