The Sevens World Series makes a quick jump across the Tasman for the next installment this coming weekend: The Sydney Sevens.
Sydney Sevens
Saturday 2 February – Sunday 3 February
Spotless Stadium
Pools
Pool A: Fiji, Samoa, England and Japan
Pool B: USA, Canada, Kenya and France
Pool C: New Zealand, Scotland, Spain and Wales
Pool D: South Africa, Australia, Tonga, Argentina
To Win Tournament Outright
Fiji
New Zealand
South Africa
USA
Australia
England
Contenders
Fiji
2017/18 Sydney Finish: Sixth
The Islanders really have started to hit their straps backing up their December tournament win in Cape Town by taking first place in Hamilton last weekend.
They looked utterly unfazed in Hamilton last weekend racking up big wins during their pool phase campaign and then hammering America in the final while disposing of South Africa in the semi-finals and Australia in the quarter-finals.
Australia hasn’t been the happiest of hunting grounds for the Fijians, who have never won an event held in Sydney. Their last victory in the ‘land down under’ came back in 20/15 season where they won the Sydney Sevens forerunner, the Gold Coast Sevens.
Player to Watch: Jerry Tuwai
The little magician was in scintillating form last weekend in Hamilton, running rings around defenders on the way to setting up some dazzling tries. He’s certainly a player to keep your eye on this coming weekend.
New Zealand
2017/18 Sydney Finish: Fifth
The New Zealanders will be bitterly disappointed with not making the final in Hamilton last week as a spear tackle from playmaker Vilimoni Koroi on one of the United States players in their semi-final clash swung the game in favour of the United States.
Last weekend’s hosts will take some heart from the manner in which they bounced back from that semi-final defeat as they hammered the Blitzboks in their third and fourth place play-off.
New Zealand have fared alright in Australia in recent years winning the 2016 event and finishing third in 2017.
Player to Watch: Vilimoni Koroi
The young gun will be looking to make amends for last weekends tackle that cost his side any hope of winning their home tournament.
Koroi was actually in great touch prior to that tackle. He put in some dazzling runs and was solid in defence. Expect a big showing from him here.
Australia
2017/18 Sydney Finish: Champions
I’ve decided to bump the South Africans off the contenders list due to their poor form and have replaced the defending Series champions with this weekend’s hosts, Australia. The Wallabies gave a decent account of themselves last week running Fiji close in the quarter-finals.
The Australians haven’t had the best of starts to the season but they do tend to up their game on home soil. They won last year’s Sydney Sevens and finished as runners-up in 2016.
Player to Watch: Maurice Longbottom
The diminutive little playmaker will be the Ace up Australia’s sleeve this weekend with his ability to turn a game on its head in the blink of an eye.
He enjoyed a solid showing out in Sydney last year and you can expect him to have the home fans in raptures when he goes on one of his electric runs.
Dark Horse
USA
2017/18 Sydney Finish: Fourth
I know I’ve dropped the under the dark horse heading but can you really label a side that has finished second in three consecutive events as a dark horse? Well, there’s still a decent price on them to win this weekend’s event so I suppose you can.
The Americans really have been great value this year with their pragmatic approach to the game reaping great dividends. They also showed they are a real team unit out in Hamilton last weekend as despite losing start player Perry Baker on Day 1, they still managed to qualify for the finals.
Player to Watch: Folau Niua
He surely is one of the most underrated players on the world stage with the curly-headed ten hardly ever featuring in a side of the tournament despite running the show for the United States.
The standoff knows how to control the tempo of a match. He was in great form last week as he sped the game up when necessary, and slowed it to a snail’s pace when his side were in a dominant position.
With eye-catching winger Perry Baker set to miss out, Niua will have a massive role to play this weekend.
Verdict: Fiji
The Islanders are on another level at the moment and I can’t see them having much trouble in making it three successive tournament victories.
