Blitzbok Victory Sets Up Enthralling Sydney 7s

The second stage of the antipodean leg of the Sevens World Series continues this weekend with the Sydney 7s. A Blitzbok victory in Wellington has seen the South Africans climb to the top of the rankings. With two tournament wins to their name already they are beginning to look like real contenders to the established 7s sides like Fiji and New Zealand. They will face a new challenge in Sydney as they will no longer be gliding under the radar.

Pool A

With the 1st and 3rd ranked sides on the standings in Pool A. South Africa and England, respectively, will have their credentials tested early in the tournament alongside Kenya and Japan.

Seabelo Senatla had a sensational weekend in Wellington claiming personal accolades alongside the Blitzbok victory. He was named HSBC Player of the Final, DHL Impact Player of the tournament and became South Africa’s top try scorer with an impressive 180 tries. He and the rest of the squad, however, cannot rest on their laurels if they are to taste victory again.

England cruised through Day One in Wellington only to see their hopes extinguished by a Scotland side on the rise. That quarter final exit will have hurt the men in white and they will be looking vengeance this weekend but must first make it through an extremely tough pool stage.

The Kenyan’s may have only won one tournament, Singapore last year, but they continue to pressure the top sides. They could well be the surprise package in this pool that denies one of England or South Africa a place in the Cup quarter finals.

Japan are the second lowest ranked side on the World Series and will undoubtedly struggle again in Sydney. Facing three of the much more fancied teams Day One could be an extremely long day for them.

Pool B

Fiji will expect to advance from Pool B with relative ease as they face France, Wales and Samoa. The Olympic Gold Medallists have the quality in their squad to take this Pool at a canter. Their only threat may well be themselves as they tackle complacency.

France meanwhile achieved a commendable 6th place finish in Wellington. A narrow defeat to Argentina in the 5th place playoff will leave them with questions that need answering in Sydney.

Wellington saw Wales’ worst tournament position of the 16/17 World Series as they lost to Australia in the Challenge Trophy semi-finals. Prior to that they had looked dangerous in Dubai and Cape Town meaning they sit 6th in the standings. They will need to take their chances in this Pool to reach at least the Cup quarter finals.

The Samoans would have been hoping for more in Wellington. A Challenge Trophy quarter final loss to Australia would have hurt them. The narrow loss, however, can only have inspired them to go further this time around in Sydney.

Pool C

Scotland continue to cause upsets on the World Series. Ultimately there will come a time when upset is no longer needed next to a Scottish victory. They are undeniably one of the most improved sides on the circuit and have the potential to be challenging for tournament victories. With James Fleming in the team of the tournament in Wellington all they lack know is consistency.

Failure on home soil in Wellington was not really an option for New Zealand. Yet they failed to make it past the Cup quarter finals. That defeat to Fiji would have disappointed the crowd had anybody been there. Perhaps it was the lack of home support but they can certainly rely on a heavy expat community in Sydney.

Australia will have big expectations on the home leg of the Series. An injury ravaged side will no doubt struggle in what is a tough Pool C. Despite improvements in Wellington they may well have taken one step forwards and two back with the number of injury withdrawals this week. They will, however, have an extremely vocal support behind them in a tournament were they often excel.

It is likely to be a long weekend for Papua New Guinea but they will be out to make their mark on the Sydney 7s. They failed to record a single victory in Wellington in the last leg of the Series and will find it extremely difficult to improve in this tough pool.

Pool D

Canada were another surprise package alongside the Scots as they finished 4th in Wellington. Adam Zarumba impressed especially in the 3rd/4th place playoff as he ran in a hat trick and will once again be a major threat in Sydney.

A 5th place finish in Wellington with victory over the home nation cemented Argentina’s credentials on the World Sevens Series. Despite their performances not being reflected on the overall standings, they have continued to show improvement. Much like the XV man side their flair and willingness to move the ball has often been their downfall as well as their greatest asset.

The USA will fancy their chances in this evenly matched Pool D. With Argentina the top ranked side (9th) in the pool compared to the Americans 11th in the standings they will be looking to their star men. Carlin Isles name has become synonymous with the game of Sevens and he will yet again have his sides hopes resting on his shoulders.

Russia will see this Pool as a huge opportunity for them to test themselves against relatively evenly matched competitors. The absence in the Pool of any of the big name sides means that they will have their best opportunity yet to push for Cup quarter finals.


Follow all the results and updates of the Sydney Sevens from February 3-5 here on Last Word On Rugby, with Chris Duffy (@duffy_chrisR) and Jovilisi Waqa (@spanishfijian).

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