New Zealand: Fact file
Form guide
New Zealand's women finished top after seven rounds of the regular SVNS season, winning the last four tournaments in Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Singapore to pip Australia to the League Winners crown by two points. The Australians would have their revenge at the season-ending Grand Final in Madrid, beating their rivals in the semi-finals and going on to win the Championship title with the Black Ferns Sevens finishing third.
However, they will be in confident mood heading to Paris having won more titles than anyone else in the course of the season. The men's team also seem to be timing their run to Paris, winning the final two rounds of the regular season to finish third overall and finishing a motivational fourth in Madrid.
Star dust
Sevens commentator and reporter Rob Vickerman says: "Michaela Blyde's form never dips below outstanding and she continues to set the standard for wing play in the women’s game. In the men's team new kid on the block Cody Vai is a serial match-winner. Tall, powerful and quick, he has everything he needs to be the go-to star for the men in black."
Road to Paris 2024
Both the men's and women's teams booked their places at Paris 2024 by finishing in the top four in the World Rugby Sevens Series 2023, not including France.
Previous Olympics
In the two tournaments to date New Zealand's women have returned home with a silver and a gold, while the men's team has a silver medal. At Rio 2016, while the men lost to Fiji in the quarter-finals, the women won through to the gold medal match where they lost 24-17 to Australia. Both performed better in Tokyo, the women beating France 26-12 to win gold and the men reaching the gold medal match where they lost to Fiji 27-12 and settled for silver.
