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'Under the pump' Fiji Sevens face unthinkable fate in Sydney

Fiji's Tira Wilagi Patterson breaks through the Uruguay defense for a try on day three of the HSBC Cape Town Sevens at Cape Town Stadium on 11 December, 2022. Photo credit: Mike Lee - KLC fotos for World Rugby

Fiji, the double Olympic Games sevens gold medallists, are in danger of missing out on automatic qualification for the Games in France in 2024 unless they regain their form starting in Sydney tomorrow.

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Having won the gold in Rio and Japan, head coach Ben Golling has a tough act to follow and a disappointing finish in Hamilton last weekend where they lost in the quarter-final to Argentina, has dropped the Islands nation down to eighth place in the HSBC World Rugby 7s Series table. Only the top four teams from the 2023 HSBC competition will gain automatic qualification for the Paris Games.

Fiji is pooled with France, Fiji, Tonga and Japan for the Sydney 7s and Gollings told the Fiji Times: “There are lots of teams who are top rated that are under the pump. You saw Samoa last week had a similar situation. They won the tournament previously (in Cape Town) but then they dropped out into the bowl stages.

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“So it kind of shows that competitiveness and that is where consistency is the key for us. The points are key for us and there are not a lot of points dividing a number of the teams so we have got to maximize points that we can get which is a big focus for us.

“That is why a top two finish this week is really important for us in terms of maximizing those points and then we take that on to the next few tournaments.”

The 2024 Paris Olympics will be held from July 26 to August 11 and six more tournaments remain on the HSBC series after the Sydney 7s. “It is one of those funny things that we are in an easier pool this time,” added Gollings whose team won the World Cup Sevens in South Africa last year.

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“Last week we had three really tough games and this week you could argue that there are two medium games. We can’t afford to go out and rest on the fact that we are good on paper and we should beat these teams. We have to go out there and put our performances in and build through this tournament as we look towards pushing into the top four at the end of it.”

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S
SK 29 minutes ago
What is the future of rugby in 2025?

Set pieces are important and the way teams use them is a great indication of how they play the game. No team is showcasing their revolution more than the Springboks. This year they have mauled less and primarily in the attacking third. Otherwise they have tended to set like they are going to maul and then play around the corner or shove the ball out the back. They arent also hitting the crash ball carrier constantly but instead they are choosing to use their width or a big carrying forward in wider areas. While their maul is varied the scrum is still a blunt instrument winning penalties before the backs have a go. Some teams have chosen to blunt their set piece game for more control. The All Blacks are kicking more penalties and are using their powerful scrum as an attacking tool choosing that set piece as an attacking weapon. Their willingness to maul more and in different positions is also becoming more prominent. The French continue to play conservative rugby off the set piece using their big bruisers frequently. The set piece is used differently by different teams. Different teams play different ways and can be successful regardless. They can win games with little territory and possession or smash teams with plenty of both. The game of rugby is for all types and sizes and thats true in the modern era. I hope that administrators keep it that way and dont go further towards a Rugby League style situation. Some administrators are of the opinion that rugby is too slow and needs to be sped up. Why not rather empower teams to choose how they want to play and create a framework that favours neither size nor agility. That favours neither slow tempo play or rock n roll rugby. Create a game that favour both and challenge teams to execute their plans. If World Rugby can create a game like that then it will be the ultimate winner.

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J
JW 5 hours ago
'Let's not sugarcoat it': Former All Black's urgent call to protect eligibility rules

Yep, no one knows what will happen. Thing is I think (this is me arguing a point here not a random debate with this one) they're better off trialing it now in a controlled environment than waiting to open it up in a knee jerk style reaction to a crumbling organtization and team. They can always stop it again.


The principle idea is that why would players leave just because the door is ajar?


BBBR decides to go but is not good enough to retain the jersey after doing it. NZ no longer need to do what I suggest by paying him to get back upto speed. That is solely a concept of a body that needs to do what I call pick and stick wth players. NZR can't hold onto everyone so they have to choose their BBBRs and if that player comes back from a sabbatical under par it's a priority to get him upto speed as fast as possible because half of his competition has been let go overseas because they can't hold onto them all. Changing eligibility removes that dilemma, if a BBBR isn't playing well you can be assured that someone else is (well the idea is that you can be more assured than if you only selected from domestic players).


So if someone decides they want to go overseas, they better do it with an org than is going to help improve them, otherwise theyre still basically as ineligible as if they would have been scorning a NZ Super side that would have given them the best chance to be an All Black.

147 Go to comments
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