This is the second time the tournament will stop off in the East Asian financial hub, with the Hong Kong Stadium also hosting the season opener back in November.
Hong Kong Sevens
Friday 31 March – Sunday 2 April
Hong Kong Stadium
To Win Outright
Men’s Sevens:
Betting Odds TBA*
Pool A
Argentina, Fiji, Samoa, and Canada
Pool B
France, Britain, Uruguay, and Hong Kong
Pool C
United States, Australia, Japan, and Spain
Pool D
New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya, and Ireland
Favourites
New Zealand
2022 Finish: Ninth
A lot has changed since New Zealand opened their campaign with an extremely underwhelming ninth placed finish in November 2022. The Kiwis now top the World Series standings having won the Sydney and Los Angeles legs, while finishing as runners-up in Hamilton and Cape Town.
The reason for New Zealand’s success is the brilliant rookies they drafted into the squad have all come to the fore in recent months. Payton Spencer and Brady Rush put in mammoth shifts in the last three/four tournaments.
They have an okay-ish record in Hong Kong – winning two tournaments and finishing as runners-up on four other occasions since 2010 – but their most recent win came almost a decade ago back in 2014.
South Africa
2022 Finish: Eighth
The Blitzboks will be looking to put a couple of very poor tournaments behind them when they take to the Hong Kong Stadium this coming Saturday. The South Africans sit way down the pecking order on the World Series ladder, currently residing in seventh place. They had one of their worst showings in recent history last time out in Canada as they finished 14th.
There have been mitigating factors for the South Africans poor showings at recent tournaments, with the Blitzboks’ treatment room busier than a Shoprite Checkers on the 25th of November.
There is hardly any good news on the injury front for the Blitzboks with only Travis Ismael and Shaun Williams and Tiaan Pretorius set to make his returns, while Selvyn Davids, Ronald Brown, Dewald Human, Justin Geduld and Jaiden Baron remain sidelined.
Fiji
2022 Finish: Runners-up
The Hong Kong specialists will be looking to make 20th crown this coming weekend. And while they have been pretty hit-and-miss on the circuit this term – they currently reside in fourth spot on the standings and are yet to win a tournament – they will still be a mammoth threat this coming weekend.
The Fijians have been dealt a blow this week with talisman Jerry Tuwai ruled out through sickness along with Josua Vukurinabili. Tuwai’s playmaking spot will likely be taken by call-up Terio Tamani, while the return of Joseva Talacolo wll offset the loss if Vukurinabili somewhat.
Argentina
2022 Finish: Fifth
Its been a great season thus far for the South Americans and a first ever Hong Kong Sevens title would make it all the more special.
The Argentines currently sit second on the World Series standings having claimed two tournament wins as they took top honors in Hamilton and at the most recent stop on the circuit, Vancouver.
They have an incredibly talented squad who have played loads of rugby together. One man who has been key to the rise of the Argentinians in Sevens is Marcos Moneta. His ability to dictate play and also convert drop goals will be vital to the Argentine cause this coming weekend.
Dark Horse
France
2022 Finish: Third
Having Le Bleu as a dark horse is bordering on coping out but there’s such a tidy price on them that I just had to have them under this category.
The French currently sit third on the World Series and head into this one off the back of a sold Canada Sevens, in which they finished as runners-up. While they are yet to win a tournaments this season, they have been very tidy finishing third in the opener in Hong Kong back in November 2022 and claiming fourth place finishes in Hamilton and Sydney.
Like the Argentines, the French have a very settled squad who, in typical French fashion, are capable of producing eye-catching off-the-cuff rugby.
Verdict: New Zealand
They look the strongest side going into this competition with the Blitzboks missing a plethora of stars while Fiji are without their key man. I expect Argentina and France to have solid campaigns but I can’t see them getting one over the Kiwis.
