The All Blacks Sevens are currently leading the World Series standings with just two rounds to go.
It's success that’s been managed despite missing a number of senior players due to injury but those niggles have left the door wide open for new talent – one of those being 19-year-old Codemeru (Cody) Nanai Vai.
In his first year out of St. Peter’s Cambridge Vai has burst onto the World Sevens stage, debuting in Hong Kong at the end of March where he opened the scoring for New Zealand after just 25 seconds in their Cup final against Fiji.
The All Blacks Sevens would go on to win the final 24-17 and along with the silverware, they had found another young talent pushing to cement his place in the squad.
“I woke up a few times during the night [before my debut], then heard my alarm go off and I was too excited so I got up and got ready straight away, even though it wasn't time to get ready," Vai said.
"I just remember running onto the field was probably the best moment ever.”
Vai got his Sevens call up while playing in the U20s campaign for the Chiefs.
“Our coach announced it during our captain's run and I was so excited," he said.
"I got a send off from the team, a haka when I left, and got on the bus and came back here [to the Mount].”
Inspiration for Vai isn’t too far away; one of five children, his brother, Kitiona, is also in the New Zealand Sevens team. The two brothers flat together at the team’s base in Mount Maunganui.
"I always get a growling from him - he always want to bring the best out of me, I hate it sometimes but he always wants the best for me and that's why I always look up to him,” Vai said with a laugh.
All Black Sevens skills coach Euan Mackintosh said the bond helps at trainings too.
“It's competitive, you can see they definitely drive each other and bounce off each other," he said.
But the Vai family talent doesn’t end there.
Another brother, Melani Nanai, has 64 caps for the Blues and made his debut for the Crusaders in their win over Moana Pasifika earlier this month. His sister, Corina, played in the Farah Palmer Cup for the Auckland Storm. And if that wasn't enough, their father played for Manu Samoa.
“Growing up, we never played rugby all together - it was normally basketball or volleyball.
"It’s fun to play against each other, we always compete and always want to be better than each other."
The 15-a-side game is still a wide open door for Vai though, who has been named in the New Zealand U20s squad alongside Sevens team mates Payton Spencer and Che Clark.
Clark Laidlaw, who coaches the Sevens side, is also in charge of the U20s.
“It's always a dream of mine to get that black jersey in u20s, at the beginning of the year it was Dad and I’s goal, so he's gonna be happy about that,” he said.
You get the feeling there’s more success to come for the Vai family.
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