Jorja Miller wins World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year for second consecutive season

Jorja Miller claimed the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Player of the Year award for the second successive season at the 2026 HSBC SVNS Awards in Bordeaux, joining an exclusive group of two-time winners that includes Michaela Brake and Charlotte Caslick.

The 22-year-old Cantabrian has been a cornerstone of the Black Ferns Sevens since breaking into the squad as a teenager, contributing to Olympic gold in Paris and multiple HSBC SVNS Series titles. Miller was also named in the Women’s SVNS Dream Team of the Year, capping an individual season in which she was consistently among the most dangerous players on the circuit.

“An absolute honour to be named it once but to get it for a second time, stoked,” Miller told reporters just off the field at Stade Atlantique. “Honestly all the credit goes to the girls around me, and I know it sounds cliche but without these girls, I wouldn’t be here and I wouldn’t be able to succeed on the world stage. This for me is a team award and just proud of the team.”

When asked to identify the secret behind her sustained excellence, Miller — after a brief, tongue-in-cheek nod to KFC — pointed to an unrelenting drive to improve. “I’m just really driven to be better, to be the best in the world. I think that motivates me every day. But surrounded by people that want to be the best versions of themselves on and off the field drives that as well. I know I’m nowhere near where I want to be and there’s so much more to go.”

The award came on a bittersweet evening for New Zealand. The Black Ferns Sevens fell 26-19 to Australia in the World Championship final, with Maddison Levi proving decisive for the Australians after returning from a tournament-ending injury suffered the previous week at SVNS Valladolid. Levi, who had been among the nominees for the individual award alongside Miller and USA’s Ariana Ramsey — the first American woman ever shortlisted — scored a crucial try just before half-time after Heidi Dennis and Manaia Nuku had traded early scores.

Miller’s back-to-back recognition cements her status as the defining player of the current women’s sevens era, and at 22, she has already signalled that she views this moment as a platform rather than a peak.