WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A few years ago, seeing the New Zealand sevens rugby team in seventh place in the World Sevens Series would have been unthinkable.
But that is the reality for the team, a 12-time champion; as sevens rugby heads into its biggest year yet, the competition is tougher than ever.
Rugby’s return to the Olympics in August — after a more than 90-year absence — means the rugby world’s focus this year will be on sevens rugby, the shorter, more dynamic and less complicated seven-player version that will be played at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.