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SVNS HKG pools: All Blacks 7s out for revenge, France up against it
By Finn Morton
Looking ahead to a historic SVNS Series leg at the spiritual home of the sport, Hong Kong China, New Zealand will have their chance at revenge after being drawn in a pool with Argentina and the USA.
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Former two-time World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year Perry Baker scored a rapid double as the Eagles held on for a hard-fought win over the All Blacks Sevens in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Tepaea Cook Savage missed a conversion after the siren which would have given the Kiwis a decisive losing bonus point, but instead, the heartbreaking defeat knocked them out of the Cup.
SVNS in HK = A match made in heaven 🙌
Check out the pool draw for #HSBCSVNSHKG!#HSBCSVNS | @OfficialHK7s pic.twitter.com/KbMQjsj1Xz
— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) March 4, 2024
The All Blacks Sevens were instead left to battle it out in the bottom four, and they later came 10th overall following a tough defeat to Samoa on a sunny afternoon at Dignity Health Sports Park.
It’s the second time this season that the All Blacks Sevens have missed out on the Cup quarter-finals following an uncharacteristically poor run in pool play. They sit in sixth place overall, with the United States being one of the teams hot on their tail down the ladder.
The United States are eighth overall, while SVNS LAX runners-up Great Britain are ninth. Team GB will be full of confidence after their run to the final, which included wins over Canada, Australia twice and Spain.
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New Zealand, the USA and Great Britain will also have to come up against SVNS Series front-runners Argentina. Los Pumas Sevens had their 17-game unbeaten streak brought to an end by Ireland in the Los Angeles quarter-finals on Saturday evening.
But to make the stakes that much bigger for the All Blacks Sevens, Argentina were the side that broke their hearts in the SVNS Vancouver final at the end of last month.
Questions remain unanswered about the consistency of the first three teams mentioned, while Argentina will be hungry to bounce back on one of the biggest stages of the SVNS Series.
Meanwhile, SVNS LAX champions France have been drawn in the pool of death along with Fiji, Australia and Canada.
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Fiji are still looking for their first trip to a Cup final this season, while Australia made it to the decider in both Cape Town and Perth. As for Canada, they’ve struggled this season, and currently sit last on the overall standings.
In the third and final pool, Ireland, Spain, Samoa and South Africa will look to make their mark in the most unpredictable group of the event.
Spain beat Ireland at SVNS LAX, but both teams still managed to make it to the third-place playoff – with the Irish claiming some payback in that clash.
Samoa and South Africa finished ninth and 11th respectively in the City of Angels, but it’s more than fair to say that both teams are more than capable of much better performances on the SVNS Series. There’s no better place to make a sevens statement than Hong Kong China.
As for the women’s draw, Los Angeles runners-up and SVSN Seres leaders Australia will come up against South Africa and Fiji. Ireland are the fourth side in Pool B – the same team that beat the Aussies in the Perth final in January.
The USA and Canada will meet once again in a better of the North Americas in Pool C, while an improving Japanese side and Spain round out Pool C.
Then there’s the team to beat, New Zealand. The Black Ferns Sevens won in both Vancouver and LA, and they’ll be looking to become the first women’s side this season to make it a hat-trick of wins on the SVNS Series.
“I’m so proud of the girls. We’ve been looking for that kind of consistency the whole season, so to do that over the last two weeks feels really good,” hat-trick hero Michaela Blyde said on the broadcast after the Los Angeles final.
“Obviously we’re building for the big picture of the Olympic Games but this is one of the stepping stones towards it and the big goal now is to continue this consistency.
“It’s tough at the top but we love having the target on our back and the Aussies have been incredible this whole season so to chase them has been quite fun and we’re just really stoked to get the win today.”
New Zealand has been drawn in Pool A along with France – who were knocked out of SVNS LAX in an upset quarter-final defeat to Canada – Brazil and Great Britain.
This is an event that you don’t want to miss. After 30 years, this is the last time that a SVNS Series leg will be held at the iconic Hong Kong Stadium. For those who want to be part of a glorious sendoff for the venue from April 5 to 7, tickets can be bought HERE.
