A rarely spotted haka in the desert: How New Zealand cleaned up at 2025 Dubai Sevens

All Blacks Sevens busted out their war dance after their men’s and women’s teams finally claimed an elusive title in the UAE

New Zealand’s men’s team perform the haka after winning their final match against Australia at the Dubai Sevens. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The haka is an emotive issue for rugby fans. For New Zealanders, the war dance which the All Blacks perform as a matter of course before every Test is an essential part of their culture, one that their team should never be without.

Some opposition fans argue the pre-match ritual offers them an unfair advantage, though, and even that its prevalence has diminished its symbolism.

Those are sentiments that could hardly be applied to New Zealand’s seven-a-side compatriots, and certainly not in Dubai.

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The haka is only performed in sevens after New Zealand win a tournament. And in the UAE, that has not been a common occurrence for some time now.

Ahead of this weekend, their women had been absent from the winners’ podium since before Covid, while their male colleagues had won just once in 16 years.

But on Sunday night, supporters were able to enjoy two hakas for the price of one, as both the teams won their world sevens series finals against Australia.

Jayden Keelan, a 26-year-old wing with minimal experience of the world sevens series as yet, scored the decisive try in the men's final against Australia. He celebrated the score with the sort of outburst of emotion that is rarely seen from New Zealand sides.

“I'm rooming with Dylan Collier, who's one of the big dogs [as one of the team’s most experienced players],” Keelan said.

“And this morning I said to him, ‘Bro, I've been practicing that haka, and I want to do it today. Like, I really want to do it.’

“So, when it finally came time to the haka, I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy.’ If you told me three years ago that I would be doing the haka for New Zealand and a winning Dubai tournament, I'd probably be like, no way.”

Keelan said his try celebration was in recognition for the hard work that had gone into him reaching this point. He has taken an unconventional route to international sevens, having played a year in Spain before being spotted while playing club rugby in New Zealand.

“It feels like a reward system after you do two years hard work, and then it comes down to 14 minutes,” Keelan said.

“Then you get a little reward, so that's all the emotion that comes out when you get your reward from working hard.”

Tomasi Cama, the coach of the men’s team, said his players are well aware of how much the haka means.

“It's a challenge that some of the older boys will always say to themselves, ‘We want to do the haka at the back end of this tournament,’ which means you've got to win,” Cama said.

“There's only one way to do the haka afterwards. I'm really proud with those boys that are leading from the front. To do it with three debutants this week, I am sure that's something they will remember for a real while.”

New Zealand players perform the haka after the men's teams beat Australia in the Dubai Sevens world series final. Chris Whiteoak / The National

As a player, Cama was part of a New Zealand side who were used to success in the desert. He won the Emirates International Trophy with them in 2007 and 2009.

The coach acknowledged that the long barren run in Dubai has made this latest success taste all the sweeter.

“It's awesome,” Cama said. “It's been a while for us to win here and it is a tournament that we don't always really go well in.

“I think it's quite special with the group that we've got. There's a bit of emotion. I’m really proud of the effort.”

Reclaiming the women’s title for the first time since 2019 was a fine achievement for the women’s side given the absence of some leading lights from their side.

Their campaign was led by the outstanding Jorja Miller, who had arrived in Dubai fresh from being named World Rugby sevens player of the year.

“Dubai is probably one of our favourite stops,” Miller said. “It's a big festival and you've just got to love playing here, so we're stoked to get the win, and then for the boys to finish it off and get one too is really cool.”

New Zealand women also performed the haka after winning their final in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National