New Zealand Sevens have confirmed new workforce captains forward of the 2025/26 HSBC SVNS Collection opener in Dubai, with Risi Pouri-Lane set to guide the Black Ferns Sevens and Tone Ng Shiu taking cost of the All Blacks Sevens.
Pouri-Lane returns to rugby’s most speedy and dynamic format after a stint in 15s with the Black Ferns, beginning at scrum-half within the Girls’s Rugby World Cup semi-final defeat to Canada at Bristol’s Ashton Gate.
The playmaker has been a dependable vice-captain for years with the Black Ferns Sevens, however has been elevated to full-time skipper. Lengthy-time captain Sarah Hirini introduced earlier this month that she is anticipating a child in 2026, revealing the information on social media.
Reigning HSBC SVNS Collection Girls’s Participant of the Yr, Jorja Miller, will serve the workforce as a vice-captain underneath Pouri-Lane’s management. Miller was among the many standouts on the latest Girls’s Rugby World Cup, nominated for 15s Participant of the Yr and Breakthrough Participant of the Yr.
The Black Ferns Sevens will face the USA of America, France and Fiji in Pool A on the Dubai Sevens. Australia headline the opposite pool that options Olympic silver medallists Canada, Nice Britain and Japan.
Ng Shiu leads what’s anticipated to be a reasonably new-look All Blacks Sevens aspect. Andrew Knewstubb and Xavier Tito-Harris have joined the Highlanders, Cody Vai’s signed with the Blues, and Tepaea Cook-Savage has inked a two-year take care of the Chiefs.
Former All Blacks Sevens captains Sione Molia and Dylan Collier will assist Ng Shiu as leaders of this aspect, with New Zealand Sevens confirming the pair have been appointed vice-captaincy duties for the upcoming marketing campaign.
New Zealand’s males’s aspect have been drawn in a tricky pool for the season opener in Dubai on November 29-30. They are going to tackle conventional rivals Australia, an rising powerhouse in Spain, and giant-slayers Nice Britain in Pool B.
Pool A is the ‘pool of champions’ in Dubai, with reigning SVNS Collection winners South Africa included in that group. 2024/25 League Winners Argentina, Paris Olympics gold medallists France, and final season’s Dubai Cup winners Fiji spherical out that group.
