Wellington Sevens: Rupert Cox previews his six teams to watch this weekend
Thursday 5 February 2015 17:07, UK
Rupert Cox takes a look at the top six teams to look out for as the HSBC Sevens World Series hits New Zealand.
The Olympic dream draws ever closer and as the Sevens World Series lands in New Zealand’s capital city before heading to Las Vegas for Round 5, the race to that all important top four is hotting up.
Remember, the four highest-ranked teams at the end of the nine rounds will automatically qualify for the summer games in Rio in 2016.
After just three tournaments completed so far, it is looking increasingly clear three of those spots will be filled by the 'big three' - Dubai and Port Elizabeth champions South Africa; Gold Coast winners Fiji; and the reigning Series champions New Zealand.
It's the battle for that all-important fourth spot that will go all the way to the final day. As it stands, the ever-improving Aussie 7s are on their way to Brazil, but England (on behalf of Team GB), Samoa and Argentina will be fighting them all the way to the Series finale at Twickenham.
Let's take a look at the runners and riders at the Wellington 7s...
South Africa: Back-to-back titles in Dubai and Port Elizabeth has put the Blitzbokke eight points clear at the top of the standings. Last season's runners-up are on fire at the moment, demonstrating a perfect blend of power, pace and tactical precision - expertly orchestrated by head coach Neil Powell - and it’s a very potent mix. The Springbok Sevens team should have few problems in Pool A against USA, Japan and the inconsistent French. Excitement machine Seabelo Senatla and the breakthrough player of the season, Kwagga Smith, will again be huge threats. Keeping their team-mates Branco du Preez, Cecil Afrika and Kyle Brown fit and firing could be a crucial element. The remarkable Frankie Horne will play in his 63rd straight Sevens World Series event. The influential Chris Dry and Justin Geldud return from injury.
Live HSBC Sevens World Series
Fiji: Brilliant in the opening round on the Gold Coast, the Sevens aficionados fell away a little in the next two events – losing two straight games to Australia which ended their Cup final chances. After losing to the USA in the Plate Final last time out, coach Ben Ryan has been on the phone to Jake White at Montpellier and secured the release of last season's World Sevens Player of the Year Samisoni Viriviri for the next two events. The 26 year-old speed machine will make them even more dangerous - he finished last season with a whopping tally of 52 tries. Osea Kolinisau will lead the side and provide plenty of cutting-edge as always. At their best, the men from the South Pacific are basically unplayable so if it clicks for Fiji in the Kiwi capital, they could easily win it.
New Zealand: Put simply, it hasn't been a vintage year for Gordon Tietjens and the All Black Sevens. As it stands, they are without a trophy, languish in third place and trail 12 series points behind the leaders South Africa. They've won a record seven Cup finals at their home event and the local bookies have once again made them favourites - but I'm not so sure. Just this week, one of their talismen - former IRB Player of the year Tim Mikkelson was ruled out with an injury and four players will make their series debuts at the Westpac Stadium. Veterans Tomasi Cama and Lote Raikabula are both still absent, so extra pressure will fall on the likes of DJ Forbes, Gillies Kaka and Sherwin Stowers to carry Kiwi hopes. In Pool B alongside a desperate England and Canada, could this be the first time in the history New Zealand miss out on a Cup quarter-final?
Australia: The Aussie 7s have become one of the headline acts in this Olympic story. They currently enjoy a six-point buffer in fourth place and knocked the mighty Fiji out of the last two tournaments. Head coach Geraint John, poached from Canada 7s in the off-season, has introduced a new structure that is paying big dividends. Christopher Reeve lookalike Ed Jenkins is injury free and leading from the front. The increasingly impressive Cam Clark will pull the strings and kick plenty of goals. Pama Fou will be again be near on impossible to stop out wide. And coach John has brought back three other big names to the green and gold: Jesse Parahi, Greg Jeloudev and the veteran speedster Shannon Walker, all return to make this Australian side one of THE teams to watch in Wellington.
Argentina: The Pumas are the quiet achievers of the series so far. With a finishing record of sixth on the Gold Coast, fifth in Dubai and fourth in Port Elizabeth, Santiago Gomez Cora has his young side on the up and up. Argentina are one of the more interesting sides to watch on the Sevens world series since they go against the grain and play like a 15-a-side team. Ruck, maul and the kick chase are all unique ingredients of the Puma gameplan and it suits them down to the ground - even in Sevens. With a relatively narrow structure, they will always be hard to beat and it always seems to cause problems for some of the big teams. They are not a team you want to meet in a knock-out match. Watch out again for the finishing of 21 year-old Santiago Cordero, who has played seven Tests at fullback for the senior Pumas.
England: It’s been a tricky Series so far for Simon Amor and the 2013 Wellington champions. After having to do without his skipper Tom Mitchell for the opening round and then Marcus Watson for the next two, he has now lost key man Dan Bibby to a long-term injury as well as his forward leader Phil Burgess. Sixth place after three events and 11 points outside the top four is not where England wanted to be at this stage of the season. Perhaps the added burden of qualifying Team GB for the Olympics is taking a toll? What we can be sure of however is that a man of Amor's sevens IQ won't panic. He's already made a canny new signing to fill the breach. Warwick Lahmert had represented New Zealand on the Sevens World Series in the 2012/13 season before being dropped by Gordon Tietjens. Amor discovered Lahmert had English heritage and hastily signed him up for England via the Olympic re-qualification loophole. The half-English Lahmert is a former captain of the Taranaki 7s and will slot straight into Dan Bibby's scrum-half role. But will it be enough to get England out of a pool that includes the host team New Zealand, Canada and Portugal? A Cup failure here could do irreversible damage to England's and Team GB's Olympic hopes.
See you in Wellington! Tune in to coverage on Sky Sports 2 HD at 10.55pm on Thursday and Friday.
