On the face of it, Michael Manson, Fletcher Morgan and Scott Gregory appear to be an unlikely trio.
The differences between them could be summed up in the nicknames of their formative teams, the Taniwha, the Swamp Foxes and the Goats. From three very different parts of New Zealand, and with three very different rugby careers, a year ago none would have pictured themselves in an All Blacks Sevens jersey.
But a confluence of events has united them at just the right time, playing in not one but two top-level teams together in the past year, winning the most storied trophy in New Zealand Rugby and now helping the All Blacks Sevens to second in the table heading into this weekend’s fourth round of HSBC SVNS in Perth.
They’ve each found their way to the national sevens setup via a team with yet another notable nickname — the Stags.
The southernmost of New Zealand’s provincial unions, Southland Rugby is built on generations of farmers and meatworkers, men who never shy from hard work or a cold beer afterwards.
It has also been home to more than a few rugby nomads over the years, which is how Gregory, originally from Northland (the Taniwha) and Morgan, from Thames Valley (the Swamp Foxes) found themselves playing alongside Manson (original team, Cromwell Goats), for the Stags.
Southland has known tough times but also a few extraordinary highs, like winning the 125-year-old Ranfurly Shield last year.
While Gregory had to watch that win over Waikato from his sick bed, both Manson and Morgan played, with the latter scoring a decisive try. Celebrations were long and large, with almost the entire town of Invercargill turning up at the airport the next morning to welcome them home, a moment Manson describes as a career highlight.
The eye-catching form of all three for Southland had All Blacks Sevens coach Tomasi Cama on the phone.
Of the trio, Scott Gregory is the most familiar with the sevens game, having played for New Zealand in the 2018-19 season before joining the Highlanders in Super Rugby and having a stint with Parma in Italy.
Returning to New Zealand Rugby last year, Gregory jumped at the chance when Cama called inviting him to train with the squad.
“I didn’t really have anything else going after the NPC season so I was really keen. It’s kind of a full circle moment, six or seven years have flown by yet at the same time it feels like yesterday.” Gregory says.
Now 27, Gregory says this opportunity has come at the right time: “I’d probably got a bit comfortable in fifteens, so I really feel like an athlete again.”
After beginning his career in the amateur Heartland provincial competition, Fletcher Morgan was invited into the All Blacks Sevens as a training partner for two weeks in November last year following his successful NPC season.
From there, he netted a year-long contract and has taken-on a steep learning curve … a rangy fullback in fifteens, he’s now converted to a sevens forward.
“Lifting in the line outs has been one thing but pushing in the scrums is probably the most humbling one … I got absolutely folded last week, so it’s been a baptism of fire,” he laughs.
Morgan has also found sevens trainings to be a different level: “You’re just red-lining every day, every effort, you leave nothing in the tank or you’re just going to get left behind.”
Of the trio, it’s the name of Michael Manson that raised the most eyebrows in New Zealand Rugby circles.
Making his Super Rugby debut with the Highlanders last season, he’s widely regarded as the quickest player in Aotearoa and, if the two chip and chase tries he scored in Singapore are any indicator, New Zealand has now found the out-and-out speedster they’ve perhaps been missing since Leroy Carter moved to fifteens.
Manson says coach Cama got in touch last year about joining the programme and after a couple of conversations, they were aligned on where they wanted to go. He relished his debut last week.
“Loved it. I’m actually still a bit speechless about it and it’s still sinking in, but I absolutely loved it,” he says.
Like Morgan, he says adjusting to the next-level fitness required for sevens has been an eye-opener. “Those repeated sprints, you don’t really get them in fifteens. You could do one big run and then you will have a bit of a break, but there are no real breaks in this game so it’s just trying to find your feet when you’re exhausted and it’s 35 degrees”.
While he won’t say it himself, both Manson’s team-mates believe he’s now the quickest player on the series … although they would love to see a straight line showdown with Marcos Moneta.
The trio are part of a new look New Zealand team which is undergoing a renaissance after their worst-ever season in 2025. Winners in Dubai, third in Singapore, New Zealand sit just behind Fiji and ahead of France in a ruthless men’s competition which has so far seen three different teams lift a trophy.
They’ve each committed to the cause, making the move to the training base at Mt Maunganui, with Manson and his fiancée sharing a house with Gregory, his wife and young son (with another due in March). Morgan stopped there for a while as well before finding his own place.
Built-in babysitters aside, Gregory can see huge potential in both his slightly younger team-mates and the team as a whole.
“There’s still a good core of guys that were here when I was here a few years ago, but a lot of the young fellas are awesome, man there’s some talent.
“If we dial in and do what we are required to do, the buy-in from the group is there, so it’s really exciting.”
Each is confident of the team’s chances in Perth this weekend, a city chock full of kiwi ex-pats where both New Zealand teams will be well supported.
“We’ve set ourselves up well, so we just need to stick with what has worked for us, the point of difference we have and really enjoy the moment” Manson says.
While Morgan and Gregory are each only contracted for this season at this stage, Manson is committed for the long haul, unable to resist the long-held dream of the Olympics being dangled in front of him, contracting through until 2028.
For a trio of players whose rugby careers have been far from a straight line, sevens seems the perfect fit. From Southland to the world … with a few stops along the way.