Hong Kong Sevens: All Black mindset driving New Zealand women to even higher levels of performance
- Black Ferns Sevens skipper Sarah Hirini reveals competitive drive that is taking her team towards another final
- Serving a 3-game ban on Saturday, the 30-year-old helped launch the union’s executive training initiative
The Black Ferns Sevens continued their inexorable march towards destiny on Saturday, racking up two more wins on their way towards Sunday’s final.
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series leaders looked, as they have done all season, a different class, even without talismanic captain Sarah Hirini – sidelined after being cited for a collision on Friday and handed a three-match ban.
Not that Hirini’s time was being wasted, and it is doubtful that a moment of the 30-year-old World Cup, World Cup Sevens, Olympic and Commonwealth Games gold medal winner’s life ever is.
On Saturday, she helped launch the All Blacks Performance Labs executive training initiative, and gave her audience a fascinating insight into the mindset that has helped craft this team into arguably the greatest women’s sevens side yet seen.
“When we go into these environments, we’re all competitive, we all want to win, we’re all pretty stubborn,” Hirini said. “You’re gonna get the most out of high performing, like in front of 50,000 people over the weekend, by actually being yourself, being free of everything that’s going on around you. If you can be authentically you, if you can turn up to training and love what you do, then you’re going to be the best athlete that you could be.
“Be yourself, give something a go and don’t have a fear of failure. [Think] if I get this right, how amazing is this gonna be for the rest of my teammates?”
New Zealand came to Hong Kong having won the previous four tournaments in a row, having already sealed their spot at next year’s Paris Olympics, and having mostly steamrollered everyone in their path.
