“She’d be the best open side flanker in in world rugby.” Steve Hansen, on Jorja Miller.
Steve Hansen says Jorja Miller would be the best openside in women’s rugby. He thinks New Zealand lose her to sevens.
Hansen, the All Blacks head coach from 2012 to 2019, said it on Rugby Unity with David Pembroke and Ewen McKenzie. He wants the Black Ferns and the Black Ferns Sevens run as one programme.
Should Jorja Miller be playing fifteens for the Black Ferns? Yes or no in the comments.
Pembroke’s question: one squad for 15s and sevens
Pembroke put it to Hansen. “Canada run in the women’s game one squad for both the 15s and the sevens,” he said. “New Zealand don’t do it. Australia doesn’t do it.”
Rugby Canada’s own pages list separate 15s and sevens programmes for 2026, so Pembroke’s description is generous. Canada have discussed it since at least 2023, when Kévin Rouet, now Canada’s 15s coach, told RugbyPass: “if we are not willing to share athletes between the programs, we won’t be successful.”
Hansen liked it, and asked first about the money.
“I think it’s a great idea. I think I think there’s a lot of money being spent on sevens. Um and and uh the question would be are we getting value for it?”
Steve Hansen: sevens was built to make 15s players
“If we’re running one program and then I think you end up getting value for it because you’re developing using the sevens game for what it started for which was to develop 15’s players.”
Then he came back to Miller.
“She went to sevens late because only because it was contracted, right? So the model’s not quite right. Like if you’re going to sevens cuz that you can get be a professional fine but you’re losing a a 15’s aside player.”
“I think New Zealand uh would be a far stronger side if if they just ran one one model.”
What Jorja Miller has already done in fifteens
Hansen put her Test count at two or three. She has played seven for the Black Ferns, starting against the USA in May 2025, and won bronze at the 2025 World Cup.
She is also the back-to-back World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year. In July she re-signed with the Black Ferns Sevens and New Zealand Rugby to the end of 2029.
Asked about fifteens when she re-signed, Miller said: “I don’t know what that could look like for me at this stage.”
Canada beat England, and the Rugby Unity panel noticed how
Canada beat England 24-21 at BMO Field in Toronto on Friday 16 October, in front of 18,621. Rugby Canada called it a North American record for a women’s rugby match.
Canada won it with a try two minutes from time. It ended England’s 41-match unbeaten run, a month after Canada drew 26-26 with them at Sandy Park.
McKenzie, who coached the Wallabies in 2013 and 2014, saw two styles.
“England seem to be when I watch them seem to be relying on the power of their forwards in close you know that sort of South African to get across the line they have to work hard whereas Canada are able to get to the width they hold the width of the field.”
Ewen McKenzie on the money
McKenzie added the funding side. Sevens is an Olympic sport and draws Olympic money.
“If you put the two programs together, you can spread that funding more broadly. So, it’s pretty smart by Canada to be able to then, you know, um I think that’s a good good approach.”
McKenzie’s model is one pool of players for both formats, at a time when money in the women’s professional game is tight. Canada and England meet again in Ottawa on Friday 23 October.
Rugby Unity has the full conversation.
Your turn: one programme or two?
Hansen wants the Black Ferns and the Black Ferns Sevens run as one programme. New Zealand runs two.
One programme, or keep them separate? Pick one below.
Frequently asked
Who is Jorja Miller?
Jorja Miller is a New Zealand sevens and fifteens player. She is the back-to-back World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year and has seven Tests for the Black Ferns.
What did Steve Hansen say about Jorja Miller?
On Rugby Unity in October 2026, Hansen said Miller would be “the best open side flanker in world rugby”. He said New Zealand would be stronger running one programme for 15s and sevens.
What was the score in Canada v England in October 2026?
Canada won 24-21 at BMO Field in Toronto on 16 October 2026, in front of 18,621. It ended England’s 41-match unbeaten run.
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