Rugby sevens: Victory delights Forbes

DJ Forbes called it quits at the end of the 2016-17 season.

For all of DJ Forbes' accolades in the world of rugby sevens, it seems his retirement was just the kick the All Blacks Sevens needed to break their winless streak.

The side went almost two years without an event win on the world sevens series, but since Forbes' retirement, the side have made two finals with one win.

"We knew we had to bide our time and we knew the win was going to come eventually. It would have been nice to be a part of it," Forbes said.

"It was awesome to see the boys finally win a final. I was part of that drought, so to see the boys belt out the new haka was a proud moment even for me on the sideline."

After 11 years with the All Blacks Sevens, Forbes called it quits at the end of the 2016-17 season. He left the game as the most capped international sevens player ever, with 428 appearances across 85 tournaments in which he scored 153 tries and was part of 29 event wins and six world title-winning teams.

With the team back to winning ways immediately after his exit, Forbes admitted he got "itchy feet" but remained happy with his decision to step away.

"I've done my dash and did everything I could in the sevens environment so now I'm trying to influence from outside the field."

As a fitting exit from the game, Forbes was awarded men's sevens Player of the Year at the New Zealand Rugby awards.

"It's pretty special. I'm not the flashest guy on the sevens field, but in terms of consistency I really pride myself on giving it my all, so at the back end of my career to get an award I'm pretty stoked."