mens
Sevens
Triple Olympian Joe Webber reflected on his days with All black people Sevens were behind him, while current and former HSBC SVNS Series players celebrated one of the most effective careers in the history of the sport in the middle of last season.
New Zealand The week thanked Webber on social media in mid-February, bringing the curtain down on an illustrious 15-year All Blacks Sevens career. The veteran has won five SVNS World Series titles, is a two-time Commonwealth Games medalist and won silver at the Tokyo Games.
Double Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hirini, Forbes All Blacks Sevens great DJ Forbes and former All Blacks winger Charles Piutau were among many to comment on the post, congratulating Webber on his powerful change in the black jersey.
The door appeared to be closed and a chapter in All Blacks Sevens history appeared to be fully written, but nine months later, Webber was back in black, taking on SVNS series rivals Australia, Samoa and Fiji.
“It wasn’t really my decision,” Webber said RugbyPass. The then coach Tomasi (Cama), I think he kind of retired me, but I didn’t say I wanted to retire. I just didn’t get re-signed at the end of last year.”
But the opportunity to don the famous blue and gold hoops of Bay of Plenty, and a change in All Blacks Sevens head coach, brought an end to a rather brief retirement. Steamers coach Richard Watt reached out ahead of the NPC season, with Webber keen to lace up his boots again.
Webber took up teaching but ended up making six appearances for the Steamers during the provincial campaign, lining up either on the wing or inside. The 33-year-old finished the regular season with a double against North Harbour October 4th.
Meanwhile, the All Blacks Sevens were preparing to enter a new era, with Willie Rickards taking over from Tomasi Cama as head coach. Rickards is joined in the coaching group by former captain Scott Curry and All Blacks great Liam Messam.
“I was still interested,” Webber added.
“I thought I could still give maybe another year or two, but when Tomasi told me I wasn’t going to get a contract, I thought, ‘I’ve done well and I’m done.’
“I’m grateful because Willie still saw the value in me being here and gave me another chance to play and hopefully add some value to the group.”
It’s been about nine months since New Zealand Sevens and others congratulated Webber on his all-time career, and a lot has happened between then and now. But it all led to a headline-grabbing comeback in some tough matches in recent weeks.
Webber has been named in the All Blacks Sevens squad for the Mount Manganui Sevens and Ignite7 tournament. The 14-man list took to the field at Tauranga’s Blake Park on October 31 and November 1, before being stitched back together the following weekend.
“I’m getting a little bit of a bummer. It was kind of weird coming back after the big bye and all that stuff, a couple of videos on social media announcing it,” Webber said.
“It’s a little weird, but I’m excited. The guys were mean so it’s great. I love it.”
Webber explained: “I was thankful for the NPC, the Steamers season, it just put me in good shape for these tournaments. I actually felt good.
“The fitness is good. I haven’t really felt like I haven’t played in about a year and a half.”
“I was actually pretty happy with how I did. The body felt good, the lungs felt good and I got through 12 games. I’m really confident going into the Series that I can still handle those big minutes and six games on the weekend.”
Webber has committed to a one-year deal with the program but is still taking it tournament by tournament with the season opener in Dubai just weeks away. A crucial All Blacks Sevens season is upon us, with the 2026/27 SVNS series representing the Olympic qualification campaign.
The list of three-time seven Olympians is quite exclusive, and Webber was joined in that club by Henry Hutchison of Australia and Jerry Tuwai from Fiji. New Zealand took silver from the postponed Tokyo Games, but Olympic gold has so far remained out of reach.
“I just love the game of sevens. I love playing it. As soon as I was about to finish at the end of last year, I went right back to club sevens.”
“Just that gold medal, bro. The Olympics. I’ve been to three Olympics and we didn’t come away with the gold, so that’s always a deep, deep desire.”
“If I’m there or if I’m not, this team, man, this team deserves a gold medal in the Olympics. I’m just going to do whatever I can for myself or for the team to hopefully get that gold in LA.”
