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2020 Olympics: Rugby Sevens outright preview

The Olympics’ Rugby Sevens tournament represents one of South Africa’s best gold medal chances. Darry Worthington previews.

Siviwe Soyizwapi - Rugby Sevens
Image Copyright - Steve Haag Sports

Can the Blitzboks bring home Olympic Gold when they get their Tokyo 2020 RUgby Sevens campaign underway? Darry Worthington takes a look.

Two women looking excitedly at cellphone

We get our first taste of Sevens betting action for quite some while this coming weekend as the Tokyo Olympics kicks off. Tournament favourites Fiji will be looking to defend their Olympic gold out in Tokyo. They are likely to face stiff competition from the Blitzboks, New Zealand, the United States, Great Britain and Australia while dark horses Argentina and Japan could be in the mix as well according to Darry Worthington.

Men’s Olympic Sevens
Monday 26 July – Wednesday 28 July
Tokyo Stadium

To Win Gold

Fiji 22/10
New Zealand 9/4
South Africa 7/2
USA 7/1
Australia 10/1
Great Britain 12/1
Argentina 40/1

Men’s Pools:

Pool A: New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, and the Republic of Korea
Pool B: Fiji, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan
Pool C: South Africa, USA, Kenya, Ireland

Men’s Format

The competition features 12 teams which are split into three pools: A, B and C.

The top two placed sides go through to the quarter-finals along with the two best-placed third-placed sides.

The Pool phase fixtures take place on Monday the 26th of July, with the quarter-finals and first set of play-off fixtures being played on Tuesday the 27th. The event comes to a close on Wednesday the 28th of July with semi-finals, 3rd place play-off and final being played on the Wednesday.

Contenders

Fiji – Rio Olympics Finish: Gold

The Fijians head into this one as slight favourites, which is no surprise considering their regular sevens squad has been bolstered by 15’s stars Semi Radradra and Filimoni Botitu.

They’ve had a good build-up to the tournament seeing off all-comers in the Oceania Sevens which featured New Zealand and Australia.

As noted in the introduction, the Fijians have a solid Olympic Sevens record having won gold when the Games was staged in Rio back in 2016.

Player to Watch: Semi Radradra

For my money, Radradra is one of the top 3 best players in the world. Expect him to light up the stage like he has been doing for the Bristol Bears in the Gallagher Premiership.

South Africa – Rio Olympics Finish: Bronze

The Blitzboks will be looking to go two better than they did back in Rio when they take to Tokyo.

The South Africans will have a mountain to climb, however, as they are missing a number of stars from that 2016 who have either retired or crossed over to the XV-man code.

They have also had a very disrupted build-up to the tournament with a number of their players being forced to isolate due to COVID threats. Additionally, coach Neil Powell will be forced to be a “virtual coach” after returning a positive Covid test. 

Player to Watch: Justin Geduld

Geduld is one of the senior statesmen now and will be one of the key playmakers for the ‘Boks. If he is at his brilliant best with the boot and ball in hand, then the South Africans will have a real chance of claiming a medal.

New Zealand – Rio Olympics Finish: Quarter-Finals

The Kiwis struggled at the last Olympics suffering a massive shock defeat to Japan in the quarter-finals.

They come into Tokyo off a decent if not spectacular Oceania Sevens where they registered wins over the Australians but went down to the Fijians.

They have a vastly experienced squad with Sevens veterans Tim Mikkelson, Scott Curry and Dylan Collier all featuring. Interestingly enough, All Black winger Caleb Clarke – who set the first edition of Super Rugby Aotearoa alight – has only been named as a travelling reserve.

Player to Watch: Tone Ng Shiu

The player with the second-best name on the circuit behind Samoa Samoa. Shiu bleeds x-factor and will be a big difference-maker for the New Zealanders.

United States – Rio Olympics Finish: Pool Phase

The States will be looking for an improved showing compared to Rio when they get their tournament underway in Tokyo.

They possess a fantastic squad who have spent a number of years playing together on the HSBC World Sevens series circuit. They have some grizzled forwards and a backline with pace burn – the perfect combination for this format of the game.

Player to Watch: Perry Baker

The gas man himself. Baker has come back from a long injury layoff and will be looking to remind everyone why he is one of the most deadly finishers in the game.

Dark Horses

Japan – Rio Olympics Finish: Fourth

You simply cannot rule out the Brave Blossoms Sevens team on home soil. They were absolutely terrific in Rio five years ago and caused the shock of the tournament by beating the mighty New Zealanders.

They have a decent enough side as well with the majority being made up of Sevens specialists and some exciting young guns.

Player To Watch: Chihito Matsui

Matsui will skipper the side and he is one of the remaining players from the Rio Olympics. His experience and leadership skills will be vital if the hosts are to excel on their home patch.

Argentina – Rio Olympics Finish: Quarter-Finals

Argentina have a really tough old pool but if they get through it then they may well be in with a decent shout of claiming a medal.

The Pumas side have been decent value on the HSBC Sevens circuit over the past few years and could well cause the big guns some problems.

Player to Watch: Germán Schulz

Schultz is an absolute unit of a man who is arguably the strongest ball carrier on the circuit. He also has a decent turn of pace.

Verdict: To Win Gold Fiji 22/10 and Japan 250/1

I’ve gone for both Fiji and Japan here as it gives me some interest in most games. The Fijian are favourites for a reason and should take gold here. I do believe the Japanese could be a real surprise once again which is why I’ll also be having a small dabble on them to upset the odds.

Women’s Sevens Verdict

The Women’s Svens will start straight the day after the Men’s Sevens comes to a close and if you’re looking for great value, you’ve come to the wrong place. Honestly, the New Zealand Women’s team will walk this one and they are only available at 2/7. I’d advise doubling this up with the Fijian men’s side as it is a sure-fire thing and adds a bit of value.

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