Wellington 7s

“Being part of the sevens
team taught me to go hard,
and never to give up.“
Wellington Sevens Ambassador Cory Jane was
selected for the All Blacks Sevens in 2006 and
played in five tournaments including Wellington
and the Commonwealth Games. He scored a
try in the Commonwealth Games final, helping
New Zealand to win a gold medal. In his book
Winging It, Jane says the All Blacks Sevens is one
of the most close-knit teams in rugby, on the
field and off it. He also recalls the toughness of
the seven aside game.
“Everything Titch puts you through in a training
session is designed to find out how much you
are prepared to give. In his eyes, you just need
to give 100 per cent. If you’ve only got 50 per
cent left to give, he’ll demand you give 100 per
cent of that 50 per cent. If you only have 20
per cent left to give, you need to give 100 per
cent of that. Actually, that’s probably half the
problem: all that talk about percentages had
me lost after the first 10 minutes.
“Being part of the sevens team taught me to go
hard, and never to give up. There is so much
space in the game that you have to learn how
to take care of business. In fifteens you have
plenty of guys on the field who can cover you
if you make a mistake. In sevens, one mistake
and you cost your team points. It’s no surprise
to me that so many of Titch’s guys go on to
be stars in the test arena too – under him
you develop exceptional skills and become
accustomed to pressure, to big stadiums, and
to the tournament atmosphere.”
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