1
SVNS HKG champions New Zealand pitted with series leaders in Singapore
Fresh from their first triumph of the season in Hong Kong, All Blacks 7s have been handed a tricky draw for the Singapore SVNS next month in the men’s draw.
ADVERTISEMENT
With just one more leg of the regular season before the Grand Final in Madrid, Tomasi Cama’s side will take on series leaders Argentina in Pool A at Singapore National Stadium on May 3-5, alongside Australia and Canada. New Zealand sit in fifth place in the standings, only four points ahead of sixth place Australia.
After winning three of the opening four events of the series, and coming second in the other, Argentina have suffered a slump in form at the last two events in Los Angeles and Hong Kong. They are being pursued by Ireland, who are now just eight points behind them. They have been drawn in Pool B with third-place Fiji, the USA and Great Britain.
Pool C will be completed by France and the sibilant trio of South Africa, Spain and Samoa.
An intriguing battle will take place in Pool B with the eighth-place USA up against the ninth-place Great Britain. Only the top eight in the standings will qualify for the the Grand Final in Madrid, while the bottom four will be in a relegation battle. Whoever comes out on top in Pool B between the two sides will likely book their place in the top eight.
The Great Britain women’s side find themselves in a similar position to the men, although they sit in eighth place rather than ninth. They are in Pool C alongside ninth place Brazil with a slender two points separating them. Their pool is completed by Fiji and joint-series leaders Australia.
Australia and New Zealand are both level on 106 points heading into Singapore, although New Zealand are very much the form side having won the past three events. The Hong Kong champions have been drawn with Canada, Ireland and Spain.
ADVERTISEMENT
Pool B will see Hong Kong finalists the USA against France, Japan and South Africa.
With battles in store at the top and bottom of the standings, World Rugby Sevens General Manager Sam Pinder said: “It’s great to be here in Singapore for this all important pool draw. It has produced some really exciting match-ups and we can expect some very fiery, thrilling matches with everything to play for, especially with Argentina and Ireland battling for the men’s title in tough looking pools.
“This year we’ve also got the best 12 women’s teams also playing in Singapore, which is super exciting and super important. This is the first time that we’ve had combined tournaments across the entire SVNS and it’s been fantastic.
“These women athletes who play in the sevens circuit are absolutely phenomenal. Leading into the Olympics, it’s very competitive, and obviously, the New Zealand and Australian teams are leading from the top. That’s going to be one hell of a battle for the title in Singapore.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Aw common. Stop winging. There were no errors by officials. It is all recorded. Whose fault was the Cane red card? Or the Savea knock? Maybe the selectors who insisted on making a very average player their captain should be blamed. Something had to give way.
69 Go to commentsThe latest ‘Ireland are arrogant’ attack from one of the two most arrogant rugby nations on earth.
106 Go to commentsWaawaawaaaaaaaa
23 Go to commentsHow does this guy still have a job?
69 Go to commentsSorry bok you can't beat facts, we heard you all crowing how great you thought you were..lol ! We all watched the game, cheatsabeth cheating cost abs a try, only a penalty considering it was cynical and a professional foul, doesn't matter who wrote this because thats how it happened, but you go enjoy your gifting of the cup,
69 Go to commentsCan we talk about the context of how this particular journalist continues to make a living and gets published? Controversy for clicks. Shame on all of us for engaging with these irrelevant opinions.
69 Go to commentsAn astounding article !
69 Go to commentsFrance didn’t lose against New Zeland in 2011, but against Joubert…
69 Go to commentsHahahaha knew the “journalist” just by seeing the headline. Not wasting my time reading it as I know it's just another toxic manifestation of the boks living rent free in this babies head.
69 Go to commentsWhen you read those facts, you can say safely that the game was handed to the Springboks by the ruling mistakes made by the Referee and TMO. Perhaps that is why South Africans were/are so “noisey” about the win….this behaviour perhaps concealing that they realise luck played a big part in the result. Certainly not a good look for the IRB going forward…pretty shoddy sadly.
69 Go to commentsI must admit to being quite surprised by all the wine-ing and hand wringing from most AB pundits; commentators and the general analysis after a classic and engrossing final. I shudder to think how the pundits would’ve reacted if the AB’s where victors with 1 point on the day.. Most Bok fans pundits; fans and commentators take a loss on the chin; congratulate the winner and move on…and till now the NZ rugby fans where the same.. Naas Botha’s famous quote has never been more apt…. Cowboys don’t cry or make excuses.. STOP IT CRY-BABIES; …..YOU LOST.
69 Go to comments4 out of 8 beats 3 out of 10 cups. Maybe NZ are bad finishers???🤣🤣🤣
69 Go to commentsBokke bokke Bokke
1 Go to commentsThe main thing you need on your side to win a World Cup is luck. ABs had their fair share of it in the 2011 final. One score game in the SF vs Springboks in 2015 means there always things you can look at and say if this thing or that thing happened then SA would/should have won that game. Smith’s try being called back broke protocol, but it was the correct decision, so I don’t have a problem with that. If it was an SA try called back in the same circumstances I don’t think many ABS fans would have a problem with it. Cane’s shot was high, it was the classic thing NZ players have been doing, and getting carded for for years - Walking around bolt upright trying to put a big hit on someone. Stupid play by someone with a poor disciplinary record. The one that was a big problem for me was Etzebeth’s obstruction. The referee just choked on this occasion. Frustrating to have the TMO in his ear all night, apart from at this moment. Minimum yellow card for Etzebeth, but a very strong case for a penalty try also. Despite all that the ABs had the opportunity to be ahead with 3 minutes to play, so it’s hard to point fingers too much. Pollard makes that kick 99/100. JB and RM make it 50/100. That’s what it came down to in the end.
69 Go to commentsBOKS had a great side in 2011 and were in kicked out by a NZ ref and Nz were very lucky to win in final against France.
69 Go to commentsBarrett's try came from a forward pass, and perhaps the Bok game plan would have been different had the ABs remained with 15 on the pitch. We will never know. But if we are living in a world if what if's, then go back to the France v Bok game. France dominated the WC, and had they gotten past the boks, would have easily beaten the ABs in the Final
69 Go to commentsRehashed articles. But this piece does not do justice to how good the Boks had to be to win that tournament, and how immense some of their players were in that final. Peter Stef du Toit played one of the greatest games by a loose forward ever. All Blacks played well but not well enough and came up short. There are a million ‘if’s’ and none of the ‘if’s’ that don’t happen will win you a footy match.
69 Go to commentsSour grapes/ face it the allblacks aren't that good anymore LoL!!!
69 Go to commentsDear Internet, This is what sour grapes look like… It wont make any difference in down playing the SA win. The scoreboard is the ultimate statistic. I agree with Johnz, I would have liked a full 15vs15 for the whole game. Could have been even better or worse. What we as rugby supporters got, was a fantastic game where the result could have gone either way. It was great.
69 Go to commentsben loser smith. I haven't read the article. Just saw the headline and knew it was him. Rugbypass surely you can do better than this clickbate loser.
69 Go to comments