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All Blacks Sevens drawn in Perth SVNS pool of death with rivals Fiji
Searching for their first Cup final appearance of the 2023/24 SVNS Series, the All Blacks Sevens will have their work cut out for them in Perth after being drawn in a pool of death alongside familiar foes.
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New Zealand have been drawn into a tough group for the event from January 26 to 28 alongside traditional heavyweights Fiji, and Olympic-qualified nations France and Samoa.
The All Blacks Sevens currently sit fourth in the overall standings after making the semi-finals in Dubai and sneaking into the quarter-finals last time out in Cape Town.
Dubai SVNS wooden spooners Canada registered one of the upsets of the season in the Western Cape with a win over New Zealand, and another loss to Samoa saw the Kiwis finish third.
While the men in black were able to “finish on a high” with a dominant win over hosts the Blitzboks in the fifth-place playoff, but they’ll need to be a whole lot better across the ditch in Australia.
The Black Ferns Sevens had also been drawn in a tough pool of their own as they look to bounce back from a surprising defeat to France in the Cape Town SVNS semis last month.
New Zealand will take on Pool C rivals the United States, Ireland and Spain in what’s expected to be hot and humid conditions along the west coast of Australia.
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Both New Zealand teams carry the ‘defending champions’ tag into the Australia leg of the SVNS Series after taking out Cup final glory 12 months ago in Sydney.
As for their arch-rivals across the Tasman, the Australian women’s side will look to make it three from three when they take the field in front of their home fans this month.
Australia defeated New Zealand in the Dubai SVNS final and backed that up with more silverware in Cape Town – a dream start to the season for the Aussie women’s side.
But after falling short of expectations 12 months ago at the Sydney Sevens, the Aussies will be sure not to take anyone lightly at HBF Park.
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Australia will face Canada, Great Britain and newly promoted South Africa in pool A.
“We’re actually on field training now and I just announced it to the girls,” coach Tim Walsh told reporters on Thursday.
“It’s fresh. We haven’t played those teams in a while so we’re excited and we know how strong they are, particularly Canada, they’re a fastly improving team so they’re very much a team to watch out for.
“They’re good. They’ve had a nice break and refreshed but came back physically and mentally ready to go,” Walsh added.
“We’ve had a good week and a half training.
“We did unfortunately get an injury in Cape Town. Demi Hayes, she’ll be on the sideline for quite a while.
“Other than that we’re at good fitness and a really good group to be able to select a really strong team.”
As for the Australian men’s side – who were beaten by Argentina in the Cape Town SVNS final – they’ll face Ireland, Great Britain and Spain in what should be a very interesting pool.
Tickets are on sale for the upcoming Perth SVNS at HBF Park and can be bought HERE.
Comments on RugbyPass
How on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
2 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
2 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
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