1
All Blacks Sevens and Blitzboks out to maintain dominance at Hamilton Sevens with Olympics on horizon
Preparations for this year’s Olympic Games will ramp up in Hamilton this weekend as the 2019/20 World Sevens Series enters its third round on the men’s side of the draw.
ADVERTISEMENT
12 of the 16 teams participating at Waikato Stadium on Saturday and Sunday have booked their tickets for Tokyo 2020, making this tournament a vital stopping point on the road to the sport’s pinnacle event in July and August.
Before all of that, though, there remains the World Sevens Series – which is still in its infancy this season – to take care of.
Continue reading below…
Two tournaments into the new campaign, and it’s clear who the two early frontrunners are for the series title come May 31.
This weekend’s hosts New Zealand and last round’s hosts South Africa have rocketed their way to the top of the series standings with 41 points apiece after facing off against each other in the finals of the Dubai and Cape Town tournaments last month.
Both sides came away with a winners and runners-up medal to their names to assert their dominance early on, with third-placed France 12 points off the pace.
A quick glance through the squads both nations have put forward for Hamilton, and it’s easy to envisage them again challenging for another Cup title.
ADVERTISEMENT
Returning to the All Blacks Sevens for the first time this season is electric playmaker Vilimoni Koroi and Chiefs youngster Etene Nanai-Seturo.
The duo is joined in New Zealand’s 13-man side by Sione Molia, who returns from injury to hand head coach Clark Laidlaw arguably his strongest possible squad to field on their home turf.
Alongside them features the likes of veterans Kurt Baker, Dylan Collier, Scott Curry, Sam Dickson, Tim Mikkelson, Regan Ware and Joe Webber, while Hurricanes speedster Salesi Rayasi will look to continue his outstanding form on the circuit.
In the Blitzboks camp, head coach Neil Powell has lost one of the series’ most prolific try-scorer of all-time, Seabelo Senatla, to the Stormers as he eyes a dominant Super Rugby season on the wing.
ADVERTISEMENT
He’ll be joined at Newlands by midfielder Ruhan Nel, while this season’s top point-scorer Rosko Speckman and Dylan Sage have linked up with the Bulls.
That leaves South Africa with an altered squad to the one that reached back-to-back finals at the end of last year, which will be led by a new captain Stedman Gans.
He takes over from the injured Siviwe Soyizwapi, and will to charge of a side that some may consider depleted, yet still headlines a raft of series stars.
Between Chris Dry, Werner Kok, Branco du Preez, Justin Geduld and Cecil Afrika, the Blitzboks can call upon almost 300 tournaments’ worth of experience while maintaining a youthful, exciting exuberance through Selvyn Davids, Zain Davids and Impi Visser.
Such a contrast of talent throughout both New Zealand and South Africa should again make them serious title contenders this weekend, but their bids for a second Cup crown this season won’t come easily.
Israel Folau could be back on your screens soon.https://t.co/ZGSyONU9L1
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 21, 2020
Both nations have been dealt firm challenges in the pool stages, with the All Blacks Sevens drawn alongside the USA in Pool A, and the Blitzboks will have to fight off a determined England outfit in Pool C.
Captained by Madison Hughes, the Eagles have named a virtually full-strength squad for the upcoming weekend.
Two of the fastest men in rugby – Carlin Isles and Perry Baker – will both be on show, as will usual standouts Danny Barrett, Ben Pinkelman and 2019 World Cup representative Martin Iosefo.
As for England, skipper Tom Mitchell is set for his first appearance of the season to bolster his side’s depth of experience and talent alongside fellow stars Dan Bibby, Phil Burgess, Mike Ellery and the series’ all-time leading try-scorer Dan Norton.
Those two pool clashes on day one will go a long way to determining the eventual champion to be crowned on Sunday, as World Rugby introduces a cut-throat new format which will see only the top side of each pool qualify for the Cup competition.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7kp1U-g8pZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Not only does that mean there will be no Cup quarter-finals, but it means two of either New Zealand, South Africa, England and the USA will suffer a significant blow in their World Series title aspirations.
The same could be said of reining Olympic champions Fiji, who will be sure to face stiff competition from Argentina, Australia and Samoa, who surprised everyone to make the final four in Dubai, in Pool D.
By comparison, France should make easy work of Pool C, although Ireland might prove to be tougher to beat than the lowly Canadian and Spanish sides.
Additionally, a women’s tournament will also be held alongside the men’s draw for the first time on New Zealand soil.
With names such as Michaela Blyde, Kelly Brazier, Theresa Fitzpatrick, Sarah Hirini, Tyla Nathan-Wong, Ruby Tui and Niall Williams in their ranks, the Black Ferns head to Hamilton as the undisputed favourites following their consecutive tournament victories in Dubai and Cape Town.
Olympic champions Australia should provide the New Zealanders with the sternest competition, as per usual, thanks to the presence of captain Sharni Williams, Ellia Green and Emma Tonegato.
As the only other side to have claimed a tournament title this season, it is worth keeping an eye on Australia’s Pool B rivals the United States, who claimed the Glendale title last October, as well.
The women’s tournament will kick-off at 9:30am on Saturday in a Pool C clash between France and Spain, while the men’s tournament gets underway two and a half hours’ later when Ireland takes on Canada.
The womens’ and mens’ finals are scheduled for 8:26pm and 8:56pm on Sunday, respectively.
Men’s pools for Hamilton Sevens
Pool A: New Zealand, Scotland, USA, Wales
Pool B: South Africa, Kenya, England, Japan
Pool C: France, Ireland, Canada, Spain
Pool D: Fiji, Argentina, Australia, Samoa
Women’s pools for Hamilton Sevens
Pool A: New Zealand, Fiji, England, China
Pool B: Australia, USA, Russia, Brazil
Pool C: Canada, France, Spain, Ireland
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
The rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
76 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
9 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
9 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
9 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
9 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
9 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
2 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to comments