There will be 48 female and 48 male athletes on display at the two-day tournament at Blake Park with new to rugby talent mixed in with emerging provincial union talent from across the country.
The teams will be coached by a group of Black Ferns and All Blacks Sevens legends. The women’s Head Coaches are Kelly Brazier, Renee Woodman-Wickliffe, Hazel Tubic and Kristina Sue, while the men’s teams will be mentored by Tafai Ioasa, DJ Forbes, Zar Lawrence and Scott Curry.
National Sevens coaches Cory Sweeny and Tomasi Cama will be watching the tournament closely while also juggling a series of fixtures against Australia, Fiji and Japan in preparation for the World SVNS Series which commences in late November.
New Zealand Rugby High Performance Talent Identification Manager PJ Williams said the tournament represented an opportunity for the players to showcase their talent.
“There is a huge amount of talent across these eight squads and it’s going to be exciting to see how these players’ perform through the tournament and develop into the future. Many of these players have experience in the NPC or Farah Palmer Cup, for others it’s a step up after playing at age grade level, and for some it’s their first foray into our high-performance environment, so there is a real mix.”
The 2025 Ignite7 women’s squads are:
Team Bolt
Coach: Kelly Brazier
Squad: Arene Landon-Lane (Wellington), Arlia MacCarthy (Northland), Charlotte Va'afusuaga (Otago/Matatu), Elinor-Plum King (Manawatu/Hurricanes), Jayda Maniapoto (Manawatu), Kaea Nepia (Waikato, Matatu), Kavanah Lene (National Combine), Kiana Pohe (National Combine), Te Pumanawa o toku ate Rogers (Bay of Plenty), Presayus Singh (Auckland), Psalm Maletino (Auckland), Tara Turner (Counties Manukau/Blues).
Team Inferno
Coach: Renee Woodman-Wickliffe
Squad: Asha Taumoepeau-Williams (Auckland), Chloe Dixon (Tasman), Grace Ngataua (Combine), Holly-Rae Mete Renata (Auckland/Matatu), Kate Donald (Hawkes Bay), Louise Blyde (Canterbury), Mele Latu'ila (Counties Manukau), Nia Sutherland (Wellington), Paris Lokotui (Netball), Rangimarie Sturmey (Manawatu/Hurricanes), Tiana Tiro (Waikato), Wikitoria Doyle (Manawatu).
Team Power
Coach: Kristina Sue
Squad: Anahera Hamahona (Manawatu), Angelica Mekemeke Vahai (Auckland), Bailey- Rae Edwards (Northland), Gillian Fa'aumu (Auckland), Harmony Kautai (Wellington/Hurricanes), Lela Ieremia (Waikato), Lialanie Muamua (Canterbury), Ngaawaimarino Simpkins (National Combine), Paris Robertson (National Combine), Reese Anderson (Waikato/Chiefs), Riko Yoshida (Canterbury), Taufa Bason (Auckland/Blues).
Team Surge
Coach: Hazel Tubic
Squad: Emacyn Ieremia (Auckland), Kaia Walker-Waitoa (Manawatu), Keelah Bodle (Waikato), Keira Mete Renata (Manawatu), Kim Lammers (Tasman), Kyla Lynch-Brown (Canterbury), Litia Bulicakau (Wellington), Liv Robson (National Combine), Rosie Moffitt (Taranaki), Sariyah Paitai (Counties Manukau), Shyrah Tuliau-Tua'a (Waikato), Sienna Stowers-Smith (Netball).
The 2025 Ignite7 men’s squads are:
Team Bolt
Coach: Tafai Ioasa
Squad: Aidan Spratley (Taranaki/Chiefs), Ben Johnston (Canterbury/Crusaders), Blake Makiri (Counties-Manukau/Chiefs), Brayden Neilson (Taranaki/Chiefs), Cam Howell (North Harbour/Blues), Dan Maisiri (Bay of Plenty/Chiefs), Drew Wild (Manawatū/Hurricanes), Josh Peteru (Auckland/Blues), Kyan Rangitutia (Otago/Highlanders), Nathan Salmon (Northland/Blues), Reimana Saunderson-Rurawhe (North Harbour/Blues), Rui Farrant (Waikato/Chiefs).
Team Inferno
Coach: DJ Forbes
Antonio Popoali'i (Counties/Chiefs), Charles Gemmell (Auckland/Blues), Charlie Bent (Otago/Highlanders), Chicago Doyle (Bay of Plenty/Chiefs), CJ Mienie (Hawke’s Bay/Hurricanes), Cohen Brady-Leathem (Counties/Chiefs), David Kama (Counties/Chiefs), Issac Murray MacGregor (Canterbury/Crusaders), Joshua Gray (Counties/Chiefs), Marshall Blakely (Canterbury/Crusaders), Timoci Sauira (Tasman/Crusaders), Will Haig (Canterbury/Crusaders).
Team Power
Coach: Scott Curry
Adam Morrison (Auckland/Blues), Andrew Malua (Counties-Manukau/Chiefs), Connor Tuifao (Wellington/Hurricanes), David Lewai (Waikato/Chiefs), Jacob Mckinnon (Auckland/Blues), Kiwi Duncan (Northland/Blues), Mattheus Pio (Auckland/Blues), Nathaniel Barry (Wellington/Hurricanes), Riley Williams (Canterbury/Crusaders), Sam Clarke (Taranaki/Chiefs), Sam Howling (Northland/Blues), Zac Shanks (Northland/Blues).
Team Surge
Coach: Zar Lawrence
Brian Lealiifano (Auckland/Crusaders), Fletcher Hewitt-Smart (Tasman/Crusaders), Jai Tamati (Manawatū/Hurricanes), Joseph Domoni (Tasman/Crusaders), Josh Setu (Taranaki/Chiefs), Justin Shaw (Southland/Highlanders), King Maxwell (Auckland/Blues), Landen Monks (Canterbury/Crusaders), Lazarus Papali’i (Auckland/Blues), Louis Lepionka (Otago/Blues), Maretino Kaloudou (Canterbury/Crusaders), Thomas Setitaia (Counties-Manukau/Chiefs)
