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It’s a week to go till the rugby sevens competition kicks off at the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Sevens is always a very tricky thing to predict but we at UR7s have put our thinking caps on and made some calls on who we think will claim that gold medal. Let the games begin.

What are your thoughts?

Pool Stages (Day 1)

Pool A: 1. New Zealand, 2. Canada, 3. Scotland, 4. Guyana

Don’t expect New Zealand, reigning gold medalists and unbeaten at the Commonwealth Games, to slip up here. It should be a pretty comfortable passage through for them. The race to join them will be fascinating. Scotland have got to India early so should have acclimatised well. Canada, under a new coach, might find the Commonwealth experience tough. Guyana are NACRA and CACSO winners and have the talent to cause both the Canadians and Scots issues but they won’t ultimately overturn them.

Pool B: 1. South Africa 2. Wales, 3. Tonga, 4. India

Tonga possess the ability to cause problems to any team in the world but I think it is realistic to say this Pool is all about Wales and South Africa. The Boks’ preparations haven’t been smooth with a host of injuries. Wales have a nice blend of youth with IRB Sevens caps and some experienced campaigners who led them to World Cup glory. SA just to pip them though. Massive learning experience for hosts India who will relish their chance.

Pool C: 1. Samoa, 2. Kenya, 3. Papua New Guinea, 4. Malaysia

Samoa/Kenya is the crunch encounter in Pool C. Expect the IRB champs to have too much in their armory for the Africans. Papua New Guinea have shown flashes of class at events like the recent Oceania Sevens and should be too strong for Malaysia – who replaced Namibia in the draw.

Pool D: 1.Australia, 2. England , 3. Sri Lanka, 4. Uganda

What a battle we have in store when Australia and England clash. The speed of the Aussies against the power and efficiency of the English. Almost impossible to predict but Australia’s speedsters might prove decisive in what is the highlight of day 1. Sri Lanka to grab third spot from the Cranes of Uganda.

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Knockouts (Day 2)

Cup quarter-finals 

New Zealand V Wales

World Champions Wales seem to excel in these one-off go for broke tournaments. They rarely beat New Zealand but turned them over in that RWC Sevens quarter-final. Think they will push the kiwis hard here but not hard enough. An entertaining high scoring 14 minutes. New Zealand

Australia v Kenya

This could be a belter. In their last six meetings its three apiece. Pace all over the park and it will be end-to-end and frenetic stuff. The Africans often put their best performances in at Cup QFs. Heart says Kenya but head says the young bucks from Down Under. Australia

Samoa v England

Another mouthwatering clash. Some epic battles in recent times and who can forget their epic marathon extra-time clash when they met last at May’s Edinburgh Sevens? There Samoa needed a Lolo Lui penalty to seal a famous win that clinched them the World Series. This could be a ferocious battle, especially between the forwards, that Samoa with their vast experience will just edge. Samoa

South Africa v Scotland

The Scots will be delighted to reach the last-eight and anything else would be a bonus here. Boks will take some momentum from the opening day and begin to hit their patterns in this one. Paul Treu’s brigade will be too sevens savvy and too fit for them here. South Africa

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Cup semi-finals

New Zealand v Australia

Trans-Tasman worlds collide with medals dangling so closely for the sides now. The Australians will be on roll at this stage and their young bucks won’t be overawed on the biggest stage. But you feel NZ will have hit their stride by now with sevens newbies like Hosea Gear and returnees Liam Messam linking perfectly with their seasoned veterans. New Zealand

Samoa v South Africa

Samoa know how to close out the tightest of matches and a possible match-up with South Africa will present them with a stern test. The Boks, with all their injury disruptions and with a newish side, would have done well to reach the top four but their journey will end here as the islanders use the ball better and are more clinical in the red zone. Samoa

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3rd/4th Play-off - Bronze Medal

Australia v South Africa

Australia really had South Africa in their pocket in last season’s IRB Sevens World Series – beating them in their four outings kin 09/10 in some big games. Expect that to continue with Australia comfortably claiming a bronze. 

Bronze - Australia

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Cup Final -Gold/Silver

New Zealand v Samoa

The dream final. IRB Series champions Samoa against defending gold medalists New Zealand. So the stats will say that in their last six meetings Samoa have nudged past the kiwis but some might argue that will count for little here. Or will it perhaps galvanise New Zealand and serve as even more motivation for them to deliver some payback? It will come down to the margins and the best coach in the history of the game, Gordon Tietjens, will mastermind a fourth gold medal for the men in black.

GOLD – NEW ZEALAND
Silver - Samoa