Long live Tyla King

The King’s reign is over. After the Paris Olympic Games, Tyla King (nee Nathan-Wong) will retire from the Black Ferns Sevens.
King (Ngāpuhi) has matured into the ultimate Sevens professional, initially selected as a 17-year-old, leaving as a seasoned 30-year-old.
In the World Sevens Series (tackily named SVNS from 2023) alone King has played in 49 tournaments and scored a record 1448 points.
New Zealand has won 35 of the 57 tournaments contested since World Series-style competition started for women on November 30, 2012. King has been part of 33 of those victories.
Additionally, King won the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2013 and 2018, as well as a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2018 and an Olympic gold medal in Tokyo in 2021.
King was named Black Ferns Sevens Player of the Year in 2015 and 2019. In 2023 she was anointed World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year. So why retire?
“It’s a feeling it’s my time to pass the jersey on. I’m still proud of my performances. I have a pinnacle event left to win, but it’s time to move on. It’s pretty cool to retire on your terms,” King said.
King will take up a two-year contract with the St Geroge Dragons in the NRL Women’s Premiership after the Paris Olympics. She played a season for the Dragons in 2023 and thrived under the tutelage of former Premiership winner and Australian international Jamie Soward.
“I knew when I went to league it wasn’t a one-and-done season. I grew up in a league family and have followed league my whole life,” King said,
“It was new, a kid in a candy store stuff. I went back to being a learner and when I do something, I do it 100 percent. I can’t wait for the Olympics but the opportunities that await in the NRLW space are exciting too.”
The Women’s Premiership has increased its number of fixtures in 2024 and the minimum salary will lift from $30,000 for each squad member to $50,600 by 2027 with an increased fortune for ‘marquee’ players.
King was good enough to represent the Kiwi Ferns in her first season, starting in the famous 12-6 upset of Australia in Auckland.  It was New Zealand’s first win over Australia in seven years and ended an 18-game win streak for the Jillaroos. 
“That was an insane moment to be part of. We gelled so quickly with a group of fast learners and incredibly talented wāhine,” King said.
“That test match became all about position, showing patience in your set of six and choosing the right time to pull that trigger.”
King is a rapid and engaging conversationalist who balances exuberance with calculation, qualities that are her hallmark on the rugby field.
It was former Black Ferns World Cup-winning coach Daryl Suasua (22 wins in 23 Tests) who initially recognised King’s rare talent. While at Lynfield College Suasua recruited King to the powerhouse Auckland Marist club and then to a shambolic Black Ferns trial for the Rugby World Cup in 2010.
Short on numbers and funding, a hastily arranged quadrangular series involving Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes and South Island regional teams was played in Hopuhopu, a former New Zealand Army base a few kilometres north of Ngāruawāhia. Such was the clamour to make up the numbers, near-decade retired Black Ferns props Regina Sheck and Rebecca Luia’ana took part as did a “terrified” King.
Surviving the ordeal built resilience but few opportunities existed in rugby until the Go for Gold program in 2012. Following the inclusion of Sevens in the Olympics, Go for Gold was a series of national trial camps held to audition the best talent nationwide. King was picked for the Black Ferns Sevens from Go for Gold and debuted at the historic Oceania Sevens in Churchill Park, Lautoka in Fiji in August 2012.
The Oceania Sevens doubled as a qualifier for the World Cup the following year and in the final New Zealand beat Australia 35-24 with Kayla McAlister (sister of All Black Luke McAlister) scoring the clinching try.
In June 2013 New Zealand won the World Cup in Russia beating Canada 29-12 in the final. Additionally, the inaugural World Sevens Series was captured winning three of four tournaments in Dubai, Guangzhou, and Amsterdam to take overall honours.
Professional contracts followed with 19 of New Zealand’s leading players, including King, earning remuneration for the first time. Top ‘tier one’ players were entitled to at least $30,000, and ‘tier four’ players earned at least $15,000.
Sarah Hirini, Kelly Brazier, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe and Michaela Blyde were also part of that group of 19 players who have gone on to dominate international sevens, with King arguably the most valuable player.
In addition to playmaking and coordinating set pieces, throwing the ball into the lineouts and feeding and distributing from scrums, King is the master of the kick-offs.
Black Ferns Sevens assistant coach Stu Ross who overseas restarts and set pieces elaborates on King’s importance:
“Tyla King is the best kicker in the world. She’s good enough to execute multiple options…Kick-offs are the most important part of Sevens. On average we can score within 40 or 50 seconds if we get the ball back. When the opposition gets it, we defend for an average of 60 to 90 seconds.
“Drilling a micro skill can’t be avoided, it’s your bread and butter. You can add variables, but when you’re under pressure with little time to think you resort back to what you know and that’s why basic skills like catch-pass are vital. Tyla’s execution of basic skills is exemplary.”
It was the aptitude to execute basics that led to King becoming the goal kicker for the Black Ferns Sevens, absent another decent option. She has kicked a record 589 goals in the SVNS series.
“When I first started, I’d never drop-kicked in my life. The coaches took me aside at one practice and said, ‘You’re the halfback, you’re goal kicking and restarting.’ It took me about a year to get decent at it but seeing it as something I wanted to be the best in the world at really motivated me to improve,” King reflects.
“Every kicker has a different process, but you’ve got to have a process you’re comfortable with. My favourite conversion was one from the touchline at the 2020 Sydney Sevens. I nailed it, it was an absolute beauty, and then the physio ran on the field smiling and said, ‘That’s your 1000th point.”
New Zealand won the Sydney Sevens beating Canada 33-7 in the final. Nathan-Wong has been assisted with her goal kicking by All Blacks legends Daniel Carter (112 tests, 1598 points, 99 wins) and Mick Byrne who was the kicking coach from 2005 to 2015 winning 128 of 146 test matches.
King identified the 2023 Hong Kong Sevens triumph and two wins in Hamilton as her World Series highlights. Winning Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021 is the career peak.
The campaign was often rocky with the Black Ferns nearly reduced to tears in pool play against Great Britain down 0-21.
“On the field, we were looking at each going ‘What’s going on?’ They weren’t playing better than us, we were just dropping the ball, throwing ugly passes, and doing dumb things. There was never a sense of panic. It was about individual accountability. Corey and Bunce didn’t say anything at halftime we just went out there and got it done,” King recalled.
Extra time was required to foil Fiji in the semifinals and no crowd was present due to Covid protocols.
“I could hear myself echo but at least I knew everyone else could hear me too. At no point did I think we were going to lose. We were so focused on the job we had to do,” King said.
“In the final, I scored a try under the posts but don’t really remember it because I was in the zone. At fulltime, when we won, a rush of emotions hit me. I had an ugly cry face going on.”
King admits it’s hard to compare the “vibe” of 2021 to the present team but she insists there is a “good mix of youth and experience to get the job done.” King nominated captain Risaleaana Pouri-Lane and youngsters Manaia Nuku and Maia Davis as the most likely players to replace her.
“It’s been an amazing journey where I’ve met some amazing people and been to incredible places,” King said.
“What would I tell a 17-year-old me? Work hard, take every opportunity, and don’t be so self-sabotaging on yourself.”