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SVNS HKG champions New Zealand pitted with series leaders in Singapore
By Josh Raisey
Fresh from their first triumph of the season in Hong Kong, All Blacks 7s have been handed a tricky draw for the Singapore SVNS next month in the men’s draw.
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With just one more leg of the regular season before the Grand Final in Madrid, Tomasi Cama’s side will take on series leaders Argentina in Pool A at Singapore National Stadium on May 3-5, alongside Australia and Canada. New Zealand sit in fifth place in the standings, only four points ahead of sixth place Australia.
After winning three of the opening four events of the series, and coming second in the other, Argentina have suffered a slump in form at the last two events in Los Angeles and Hong Kong. They are being pursued by Ireland, who are now just eight points behind them. They have been drawn in Pool B with third-place Fiji, the USA and Great Britain.
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Pool C will be completed by France and the sibilant trio of South Africa, Spain and Samoa.
An intriguing battle will take place in Pool B with the eighth-place USA up against the ninth-place Great Britain. Only the top eight in the standings will qualify for the the Grand Final in Madrid, while the bottom four will be in a relegation battle. Whoever comes out on top in Pool B between the two sides will likely book their place in the top eight.
The Great Britain women’s side find themselves in a similar position to the men, although they sit in eighth place rather than ninth. They are in Pool C alongside ninth place Brazil with a slender two points separating them. Their pool is completed by Fiji and joint-series leaders Australia.
Australia and New Zealand are both level on 106 points heading into Singapore, although New Zealand are very much the form side having won the past three events. The Hong Kong champions have been drawn with Canada, Ireland and Spain.
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Pool B will see Hong Kong finalists the USA against France, Japan and South Africa.
With battles in store at the top and bottom of the standings, World Rugby Sevens General Manager Sam Pinder said: “It’s great to be here in Singapore for this all important pool draw. It has produced some really exciting match-ups and we can expect some very fiery, thrilling matches with everything to play for, especially with Argentina and Ireland battling for the men’s title in tough looking pools.
“This year we’ve also got the best 12 women’s teams also playing in Singapore, which is super exciting and super important. This is the first time that we’ve had combined tournaments across the entire SVNS and it’s been fantastic.
“These women athletes who play in the sevens circuit are absolutely phenomenal. Leading into the Olympics, it’s very competitive, and obviously, the New Zealand and Australian teams are leading from the top. That’s going to be one hell of a battle for the title in Singapore.”
