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A gilt-edged opportunity to clear out from the pack awaits England and New Zealand, who with 80 points are the joint leaders of the HSBC Sevens World Series, in Hong Kong this weekend.

However they will have to overcome defending champion Samoa, who welcome back Lolo Lui to an already experienced side, Fiji, fielding six changes from Las Vegas and South Africa, hunting for their first-ever win in Hong Kong, to claim the 30 points.

Australia, although they have only made one semi-final all season, could also be a threat in the 24-team event.

England started the season in fine style coming from 12-21 down to beat defending world champions Samoa 29-21 in Dubai and finishing runners-up to New Zealand 19-22 a week later in George, when Tomasi Cama kicked a last-minute penalty goal.

The Kiwis repeated the result at home in February, with three tries to Declan O'Donnell sealing a 29-14 triumph and taking them to equal first on the table, but both teams bowed out in the semi finals at Las Vegas, as South Africa and Fiji played their best rugby of the season.

The duo met in the Plate final in Wellington but seven days later the Blitz Bokke, bolstered by Cecil Afrika, reversed the result beating Fiji 24-14 in a match screened live on network television channel NBC.
The result brought them closer to the leaders as they leapt up to 56, just behind Fiji who joined Samoa in third equal position on 64.

Still, the men in black head to So Kon Po as top seed, with England second, and a win by either team on Sunday evening could see them go beyond the reach of the chasing pack.

Both teams know the halfway point of the season is a crucial juncture.

"It is all to play for and Hong Kong can make or break a season – it’s massive, pivotal, and that’s why we have to be at our best," said Ben Gollings, the England captain. "Having tasted success there it is a place you want to go back to and to win there again.

"I’ve been there a lot, love playing there and I’ve got a big attachment to Hong Kong. At the stadium, it’s an electric atmosphere. – it’s like a second home for us – and let’s hope we can really give them a reason to raise the roof again this year."

New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens added that Hong Kong was vital to the season.

"There are up to six teams here who could win this tournament," continued Tietjens. "It is really important for Fiji, Samoa and South Africa to do well here or they would fall behind the pace in the world series. England get lots and lots of support here and they will be very tough while Australia are a team who on their day can also win a tournament," he told NZPA.

"We see defence as the real key here. I felt we missed too many tackles in the previous tournament and I think if we can get our defence right and our systems going, we can be certainly tough to beat."

The sold-out tournament will acknowledge the victims of recent earthquakes in Japan and Christchurch with a minute's silence before the Cup Final on Sunday evening.

If New Zealand can get through a likely semifinal against a rejuvenated Fiji, and England can ride the wave of support to topple the defending champions on their side of the draw, then we think these two will meet again in the showpiece match.

It is again shaping up to be an exciting weekend in the Far East.

Pool A
New Zealand should breeze through Pool A even though six players are making their debut in Hong Kong. The top seeds welcome back captain DJ Forbes from a hamstring injury, and the veteran of 38 tournaments, including five Hong Kong Sevens, will be looking to make an impact on his return.

Forbes, Cama, Lote Raikabula and Solomon King have all won in Hong Kong, while coach Tietjens is chasing a seventh Hong Kong crown, having first won in pre-Series days in 1994, and rising stars O'Donnell, Frank Halai and Buxton Popoali'i will be looking to impress on their first visit.

New Zealand haven't taken out Hong Kong since 2008 when they beat South Africa but have been in six finals since 2000 and only missed the semis once, when they were upset 10-7 by Kenya in 2009.

The experienced Portugal can be considered second favourite in Pool A, having beaten France in seven of their last eight meetings, including the Bowl quarterfinal here 12 months ago. Six of the squad have more than 20 caps, two more than their Kiwi rivals in this regard.

Pedro Leal and the Mateus brothers - David and Diego - will again spearhead the Iberians, who famously beat ngland for the first time in Dubai last December.

France have only won six games in four tournaments this season and have never made the Cup round in Hong Kong, so little is expected of them, while Korea haven't played all season and only won the bronze at last November's quadrennial Asian Games.

Although Korea are regular visitors to Hong Kong, none of the squad can boast more than a handful of IRB Sevens caps.

Prediction: New Zealand to Cup, France and Portugal to Bowl, Korea to Shield

Pool B
England last won in Hong Kong in 2006 and have the experience at So Kon Po to do it again. Gollings is the only current player to taste victory there (having also won in 2002 and 2004) but nine of the squad have played in front of the raucous ex-pat crowd.

"It feels like the whole crowd is right on top of you when you come out," says Gollings. "We purposely run down one side in front of our fans just before we warm up just to get them going and it’s great to have that support."

The returning Ollie Lindsay-Hague adds spark to a side that felt right at home with the grey, wet conditions on arrival. The forecast for the weekend has improved, however Hong Kong has a tradition of being played in slippery, even muddy, conditions.

The USA, who won the Shield in Las Vegas, has the potential to get into the top eight and will be counting on big wins over Japan and China to help their points differential, as was the case in 2010. Todd Clever (18 tournaments) returns from pro rugby in Suntory to bolster the side and joins two new faces, Taylor Mokate and Peter Tiberio, from the collegiate ranks.

"We still have a lot of growth for this young squad but we are headed in the right direction," said coach Al Caravelli.

Japan has a good record in Asian competition, including winning the Asian Games over Hong Kong, but will probably find the step up too much in Hong Kong, especially against the tragic backdrop of the earthquake and tsunami and with five new caps.

"We will try our best and hopefully our nation will also be motivated to recover from the earthquake and tsunami. We could only bring 10 players to this tournament, but they are keen to show what they can do for the people in Japan," said manager Kensuke Iwabuchi, who is also likely to strip as cover.

Business management student Lote Tuqiri, 22 and who hails from the same Fijian village as his famous namesake and qualifies through residency, is an interesting addition to the squad.

China haven't won a match in Hong Kong for three seasons, conceding 50 points to England two years ago, and are likely to be the easy-beats again.

Prediction: England and USA to Cup, Japan and China to Shield

Pool C
Samoa are boosted by the return of Lui, who captained them to the 24-21 victory over New Zealand in Hong Kong last year and also played in the 2007 victory over Fiji. His presence takes the average among the Samoan squad to an imporessive 25 tournaments per player.

Tom Iosefo, a star for Auckland at the New Zealand national Sevens in January, replaces Mikaele Pesamino who has been struggling with a knee injury while the only newcomer is Fale So'oialo, a cousin of 62-cap All Black number eight Rodney.

Alafati Fa'osiliva is one touchdown away from becoming the third Samoan to score 100 career tries while Fautua Otto needs two to bring up 50.

Scotland is captained by the returning Andrew Turnbull, who boasts 84 tries himself in his 28 tournaments, and three players make their IRB Sevens debut for the Celts, including Jonny MacDonald, a former Arabian Gulf player who qualifies due to the disbandment of the Gulf union.

Tonga beat both Kenya and France in Wellington, their most recent outing, so should be well-matched with the Scots, making it difficult for either to progress on points differential.

Mexico make their debut in Hong Kong and are likely to face a tough three days but will use the event as part of their preparation for hosting the Pan-American Games in October.

Prediction: Samoa to Cup, Scotland and Tonga to Bowl, Mexico to Shield

Pool D
Fiji coach Iliesa Tanivula has recalled France-based Setefano Cakau and Osea Kolinisau, speedster David Batiratu and Army captain Dale Tonawai, and named Tonawai and Watisoni Votu co-captains.

"All four players give the side experience at the highest levels which will be invaluable," Tanivula said. "Tonawai and Batiratu have been performing exceptionally well in recent local tournaments and so both deserve to be there on talent alone, regardless of their experience, as do Cakau and Kolinisau who’ve been in regular contact and have shown great commitment in training."

Regular captain Emosi Vucago has been stood down as captain in order for to focus on his own game, and the Islanders, who last won here in 2008, should comfortably make the quarter-finals.

Kenya will thus rely on big wins over Russia, who can be a handful as they proved when beating Kenya in George, and a Malaysian side that features three Fijians of their own.

The Africans give a first cap to William "Lomu" Ambaka and have two other changes from Las Vegas, where they lost in the Plate final to Samoa. Humphrey Kayange (93) has an outside chance of joining brother Colins Injera with a century of IRB Sevens tries.

Russia have defeated both Kenya and France this season and won the Bowl here in both 2007 and 2008.

Kini Rasolosolo, Isoa Vuluma Turuva and Timoci Nacokula are the three Islanders joining the three Noor brothers and six other native Malaysians in their first Hong Kong bow since 2003.

Prediction: Fiji to Cup, Kenya to Bowl, Russia and Malaysia to Shield

Pool E
South Africa are the form team and will be looking to continue that progress as they eye up a potential quarter-final against Fiji. Four changes have been made since the Las Vegas victory with 18-year old Tshotsho Mbovane, on debut, the most interesting.

"For any debutant, it certainly doesn’t come bigger and tougher than Hong Kong," said coach Paul Treu. "I have faith in Tshotsho and the other young players and our aim will obviously be to win the tournament, but our main objectives will be to keep learning and growing as a team.

"We are looking for consistency at this stage and it’s going to be important to see how our younger players adapt at maintaining the kind of intensity that was shown in Las Vegas."

Wales have made the top eight three times out of four this season and big wins over Hong Kong and Spain may see that scenario repeated. The motivation will be there against the hosts, having lost in the Shield final last year to the side with former Wales coach Dai Rees in charge, and this game will be critical to the Welsh hopes.

Warren Davies is the only new cap in the Welsh side that is again captained by Jevon Groves.

Rees, meanwhile, is trying to repeat the fairytale with his home-grown squad.

"It's a pretty special tournament as it's the spiritual home of world sevens and we're really looking forward to the weekend, especially after last year where we won our first silverware in ten years," he said.
"There's lots of expectations of the local fans and it would be nice to be in the competition on Sunday afternoon."

Spain play their first IRB Sevens tournament since Edinburgh 2009, where they lost all five games, although did beat selections from Australia and Samoa on their way to the final in Sri Lanka last November.

Prediction: South Africa and Wales to Cup, Hong Kong to Bowl, Spain to Shield

Pool F
Australia and Argentina will battle it out for top spot in Pool F, with coach Michael O'Connor making only two changes from Las Vegas. Tevita Kuridrani and Henry Vanderglas return for Brian Sefenaia (who has a short-term Super 15 contract with the Western Force) and Daniel Yakapo.

"We’ve got a pretty tough pool, but I’m happy to have a tough pool, for us, we’re not going to try and get through on for-and-against," said O'Connor. "We have to beat Argentina, we have to beat Zimbabwe and we have to beat Canada, so that’s the equation. Simple."

Argentina defeated the Aussies in their last meeting, in the Plate semi-final in George, and will be more than competitive in the group thanks to a core of experienced players in Francisco Merello, Santiago Bottini and Hernan Olivari.

Canada won the Bowl in 2010, defeating Wales in the final, and welcome back the talismanic Phil Mack who has not played for the national side since the Commonwealth Games. Forward Neil Meechan, centre Mike Scholz and Sean Ferguson also return to the squad.

Zimbabwe have a young side with teenage Justin Coles one to watch having gained a scholarship at Hartpury College. However, they fancy their chances against Argentina who they beat in Dubai.

"The fact that we have beaten Argentina before makes it even a harder game because they will come more prepared but we have also prepared and I foresee a very exciting game," said coach Nyamutsamba.

Prediction: Australia to Cup, Argentina and Canada to Bowl, Zimbabwe to Shield

Recent Winners
2010: Samoa
2009: Fiji
2008: New Zealand
2007: Samoa
2006: England
2005 (RWC Sevens): Fiji
2004: England
2003: England
2002: England

HSBC SEVENS WORLD SERIES (after four tournaments)
England 80
New Zealand 80
Fiji 64
Samoa 64
South Africa 56
Australia 36
Argentina 24
Wales 18
Kenya 12
Scotland 8
USA 6

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