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Rival coach launches claims of illegality against both Fiji and Australia on eve of Paris Sevens finale

Aminiasi Tuimaba of Fiji charges forward against Australia (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Fiji and Australia have faced claims they were breaking the law with their ruck play leading into the title-deciding final leg of the HSBC World Rugby Series Sevens tournament in Paris this weekend.

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Mike Friday, the USA head coach, raised the issue of what he believed was teams crawling on hands and feet through a ruck with Australia and Fiji, who contested the final in London on Sunday, singled out for this practice.

With Fiji just two points ahead of the USA at the top of the table, the problem was raised at today’s meeting of team coaches with referee chiefs Craig Joubert (World Rugby referee coach) and Paddy O’Brien (World Rugby referee manager). As a result, RugbyPass understands Joubert and O’Brien issued a “clear direction” to ensure this does not become a factor in the crucial final round of the Series at the Paris Sevens.

Friday first raised the tactics of the Fijians and Australians in an interview with FloRugby and this led to the claim being highlighted in the coaches meeting in Paris. Friday and his USA team have led the table throughout the Series until they were beaten 17-10 by Fiji in the London semi-finals with the reigning Olympic champions thumping Australia in a one-sided final at Twickenham.

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USA were the first country to clinch automatic qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games Sevens in Tokyo and have been followed by Rio champions Fiji, New Zealand and South Africa in securing the four available places. The other eight places will be decided by regional qualification tournaments.

“We are pleased to have been the first men’s team to have achieved Olympic qualifications, which was our primary goal this season,” Friday told FloRugby. “To be going into Paris in control of our own destiny locked in a top of the table race with Fiji with only two points separating us exciting stuff.

“We have come so far in the last few years and it’s credit to all the hard work and sacrifice of the boy. It was a reasonable showing by us (in London) but we didn’t really get our attacking game playing consistently as we would like in the weekend and that is the challenge. There is lots to look forward to we have one last dance in Paris and we have an opportunity to go and get the Series which will be our aim one game at a time.”

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R
RedWarriors 58 minutes ago
How Dupont-less France tossed a grenade into Ireland's Grand Slam celebrations

In both instances, Ireland can cross halfway in comfort and there are 20 or 30 metres of space in which to work, but a clear sense of purpose is conspicuously absent. Whether it stumbled into a handling error or a breakdown pilfer or delivered a negative kick back to their opponents, Ireland’s transition attack was toothless.”


I disagree with this in the first instance there is a three on one if Osborne receives the pass. He will get past Moefana with only Ramos appearing to confront Osborne, Aki and Sheehan with no-one behind. Probable try, not toothless. As Osborne is on the opposite wing to what he has been training for there is a handling error (understandable). You did acknowledge that Lowe was a blow, but thsi was not a toothless attack, the French defense was beaten there.

The second instance is a kick to Nash, again he will not have trained as much on kick receipts and takes the ball into trouble. Ireland’s systemic preparation is massively important to them but vulnerable to a pre match injury.


As I said previously, in all parallell universes France win, but it might have been a better and more interesting contest without that Injury.


My hopeful view before that match was of a Leinster-LaRochelle type scenario with Ireland building a score and then withstanding an onslaught. Turned out first half was a low scoring Leinster-LaRochelle encounter. Second half was tired Leinster versus Fresh Toulouse.

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