Source: All Blacks
A long-standing New Zealand rugby tournament, Global Youth Sevens, will extend its wings in December when it joins forces with NZR+ to live stream all games worldwide.
The tournament, which was developed from the Condor Sevens and started 38 years ago, will be hosted at Dilworth School in Auckland from December 13-15, and teams are guaranteed six games with pool play and then the finals systems.
Teams from around the globe will descend on Auckland, including two sides from the United Kingdom, four American teams (among them the USA national boys' and girls' teams), the Japan national girls' team, two teams from Fiji, one from Samoa, a team from Hawaii, and 12 from Australia. Among the 35 New Zealand-based teams are the New Zealand Under-18 boys' and girls' sides.
Tournament organiser Phil Gaze from Next Generation Sport said players like Wallace Sititi, Hoskins Sotutu, Noah Hotham, Jorja Miller and Sylvia Brunt are some of the tournament's most recent New Zealand alumni who have made their mark on the international scene.
Australian players who have been involved include Tate McDermott, Tane Edmed, Dylan Pietsch, the Levi sisters, Maddison and Teagan, while Chay Fihaki, Jone Rova and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens have appeared in Fiji sides.
While there has been debate about the promotion of 1st XV rugby on television, Gaze said Sevens was a different product.
"Sevens is about expression. Sevens is about fun, and it's more flamboyant, and there's not the pressure of 1st XV rugby and a chance for so many tries being scored in so many games.
"It can be broadcast and the kids can share it with their friends, family, and it can also be a digital file they can refer to when they're older."
Gaze first became involved in the concept when taking on the Condor Sevens, a Sevens tournament that has been played for nearly 40 years and with which he previously worked for 8 years. With a sports marketing background and also involvement with the Wellington World Rugby Sevens, he saw the tournament grow from 16 teams to 100.
Discussions with former All Blacks Sevens coach Sir Gordon Tietjens resulted in the decision to make the tournament more competitive. Sponsorship was attracted, and SKY Television became involved. Players then started to feed into the men's Sevens programme, with the best two or three players at tournaments being sent to spend time with the World Sevens squad.
"We built a pathway opportunity for the kids and introduced an Under-15 grade and then girls' rugby. We were one of the first adopters of the girls' game."
The competition developed more of an international look when Rugby Australia told New Zealand Rugby they would like to play New Zealand's schools teams at both boys' and girls' levels.
Because New Zealand was involved in its first Olympic Sevens campaigns, they deferred discussion, but Gaze picked up on it and contacted the Australians, saying he could organise games with the Condors teams.
"Every year, we selected a Condors tournament team, but it was just a paper team that never played games. If you look back over the last 15-20 years, the teams have been stacked with future All Blacks like Sam Cane, the Whitelock brothers, and several others.
"I reached out to friends in New Zealand who are in the Fijian community and asked if they could organise an NZ Fijian Team, an NZ Samoan team and then an NZ Tongan team. Before you knew it, we had 10 teams playing.
"Hoskins Sotutu and Emoni Narawa played that year, so it was a fantastic start. The Aussies had Tate McDermott in their team.
"We ran it out of Sacred Heart College in Auckland, and it grew to 28 teams. And then Covid hit. We managed to dodge Covid, which was impressive considering how many events were challenged.
"We kept communicating with international teams, and while during Covid we had no international teams coming in, the New Zealand teams were so strong we were able to have Cook Islands team, NZ Māori teams and all the Pasifika groups represented as well as Barbarians teams.
"Social media was a great tool. We kept feeding them content and told them when the borders reopened, we wanted them back. Then, in the first year out of the lockdowns in 2022, we grabbed 32 teams. Last year, we had 52 teams, and we will have 60 teams this year, with 27 internationals.
South Africa and France have expressed interest in participating in the future, and while there is a prospect to make the tournament more appealing for overseas countries, a feeder event could be played a week before on Australia's eastern seaboard.
The 2024 Global Youth Sevens will be played in Auckland from December 13-15. The event will be streamed Live and On Demand on NZR+ with a Tournament pass costing $14.99 NZD.
Click HERE to buy a 2024 Tournament Pass.
Click HERE to buy tickets to attend the tournament at Dilworth College, with tickets starting from just $5 for a day pass and free for children under 12.
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