women
weeks
Black Ferns Sevens center and Paris 2024 Olympic gold medalist Jazmin Felix-Hotham describes her off-season as “switching off, holding back”.
After the last HSBC SVNS Grand Final in Bordeaux, France, Felix-Hotham and World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year Jorja Miller went on holiday to Mallorca, Spain and Amsterdam.
Unsettled and irritated by two Black Ferns Sevens defeats by Australia in the Grand Final series in Bordeaux and Valladolid, Felix-Hotham decided to train with her former Japanese club Hokkaido Barbarians for a month.
She further expanded her Sevens portfolio with three tournaments with the Taran Clan in the Ultimate Sevens in September. Based in Madrid, Ultimate Sevens features six internationally combined teams competing in tournaments in Cardiff, Biarritz and London.
It was a tight format where a win in the first pool game was essential to advance to the finals. Clan Taran, representing the Celtic nations of Wales, Ireland and Scotland, achieved the best result with place after runner-up in Biarritz.
“Ultimate Sevens is a great concept. There aren’t many opportunities to play with the girls we compete against in the World Series,” Felix-Hotham said.
“Our team included Camilla Carvalho from Brazil, Eden Kilgour from Canada, Heidi Dennis and Mackenzie Davis from Australia. It was great to learn from them in a new environment, as well as from the men’s team who often trained with us.
“Our coach was Phil Snyman from South Africa. He won the World Series. I was excited to work with him. I found a lot of similarities between Phil and Cory Sweeney, although Phil uses stronger language. Phil is a very good coach who wants his players to be multi-dimensional. Everyone can shoot, pass and run.
“I worked intensively with Renfred Dazel. He improved my shooting game, which I didn’t focus much on before.
“With the Black Ferns Sevens, we were proud of our league season. We progressed consistently and won five tournaments in a row. The hardest thing is to stay at the top of the table for a long time. We let it slip at the end. It’s a cliché, but small mistakes – missed kick-offs, loose balls, penalties, big losses are our finals. Top events for us, under pressure, previous form doesn’t matter. Personally, Ultimate Sevens has created a good environment.
With less than two years to go until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the Black Ferns Sevens intend to ramp up the pressure on the 2026/2027 HSBC SVNS, which kicks off in Dubai on November 27.
Most importantly, Olympic medalists Sarah Hirini, Shiray Kaka and SVNS all-time leading scorer Michaela Blyde return from maternity leave. Renee Holmes, 2022 Rugby World Cup winner of the fifteenth division with the Black Ferns, joins the fray, while Felix-Hotham, Katelyn Vaha’akolo, Jorja Miller, Braxton Sorensen-McGee, Kelsey Tenetti and Maia Davis will look to build on strong form in 2025/26.
“I’m really excited for the upcoming season. We’ve gone through two losses and refreshed the squad. Renee Holmes is a great, such a professional athlete. She wants to learn, asks a lot of questions and is a quick learner. I think her fresh eyes and skill from restarts and like a lot, will add another goal kicker Femlix.
“Kavanah Lene is one to watch. She came to us from basketball. She lived with me and has been in the Black Ferns Sevens setup for a year. She’s learning what it takes to be a high performance athlete and has some serious talent. I can’t wait to see her exposed to the World Series.”
The Black Ferns Sevens have won 62 of the 96 tournaments they have competed in since 2000 and 543 of 597 matches in all competitions. Since 2012, in the SVNS era, they have won 48 out of 61 Cup finals. Twenty-seven of those wins came in 38 matches against Australia. Black Ferns Sevens have won 393 of 435 SVNS matches.