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Tom Chick

The sixth leg of the IRB Sevens World Series takes place this weekend at one of the most prestigious and entertaining events on the circuit in a three day spectacle.

The Hong Kong Sevens has established itself on the IRB circuit since it launched in 1975 and its history is littered with exhilarating Sevens and thousands of adoring fans creating an atmosphere like no other.

Like Adelaide, the first round of pool matches kicks off on Friday, with the remaining two on Saturday, and to make things even more interesting, the race for this year’s title could not be closer, with Samoa just two points behind New Zealand after successive victories in Las Vegas and Adelaide last week.

The tournament is slightly different with 24 teams (and all six continents) competing instead of the usual 16 and there are six pools, instead of four, in the same set up as the RWC Sevens.

All six pool winners will be joined by the two best runners-up so points difference is bound to come into play and my eyes will certainly be glued to who will compete for the Cup.

Pool A: Samoa, Argentina, Russia, Italy

Samoa will fancy their chances to top this group and continue their momentum heading into the Cup quarter finals with Mikaele Pesamino looking to add to his impressive 39 tries this season.

Although Argentina are one of the core teams on the circuit, their performances this season have not always been what we expected – despite a Cup semi-final last week - and Russia could cause a huge upset if they beat the South Americans on Day One to potentially secure one of two best runner-up slots for the Cup quarters.

 Russia performed heroics in their two appearances so far this season in Dubai and George, reaching a Bowl final in George and winning the Shield in Dubai and Vasily Artemyev, who has scored 11 tries in the two tournaments, can’t wait to get back into action in Hong Kong.

"I've never been to Hong Kong myself but I've heard so many good things about the competition, the crowd and the atmosphere so I'm really looking forward to it," Artemyev told the IRB.

"I had my first experience of the World Series over in Dubai with the huge crowd there and it was so uplifting.

"I don't think that we should be coming here with any huge weight of expectation on our shoulders, we're still underdogs as far as I can see it and we just want to prove to the other teams that we can really play rugby on the same level and can beat good teams out here.

Pool B: New Zealand, Scotland, France, Chinese Taipei

New Zealand also appear to have a smooth run to the Cup quarter finals with Scotland, France and Chinese Taipei completing Pool B.

Smooth is not something that can be said about their preparations for this event however, with New Zealand appearing to be affected by the pressure and expectance that comes from winning the opening two legs in Dubai and George.

Head coach Gordon Tietjens was baffled at a lopsided penalty count that saw New Zealand concede 22 and be awarded just four in their first four matches.

In the quarterfinal they were penalised six times to Samoa's none and this has been dominating the headlines ever since.

"The players are puzzled. We talk about discipline and it's still happening. We were getting smashed in the penalty count over there," Tietjens said.

"We're still working through it but there's no doubt the officiating was below average from a lot of perspectives [in Adelaide]. We want clarification on whether those rulings were right or wrong."

Either way, Tietjens will be hoping to put this behind him on Friday when they meet Chinese Taipei, one of six Asian nations competing in the event, even without the injured Sherwin Stowers.

Scotland begin their campaign against France and should be aware of the dangers possessed by Renaud Delmas, who has accumulated 21 tries in the few appearances France have made this season. 

Pool C: Fiji, USA, Portugal, Thailand

USA landed their first ever Cup final appearance last weekend and should take some momentum into this weekend’s tournament having shot into ninth position in the overall log.

Will they be able to build on it, or was it just a one off? The draw sees them play Fiji, who themselves lost ground on their Pacific Island neighbours with only a Plate semi final appearance to brag about, Portugal and Thailand. 

Fiji begin against another of the Asian nations in Thailand, whilst USA meet Portugal on Day One, with coach Al Caravelli expecting last week to be a breakthrough for his side.

“This is a first for our men's Sevens team, but hopefully not the last," said Caravelli.

"It was great to make a first Cup Final, especially after the hiccup that we had against Australia, for the guys to dig deep and rebound I'm very proud of them.

"I think more important than reaching a first Cup final however is playing against quality teams and getting up for those games. We like to say that every game we play is a final and we always train to play 10-minute halves [for the Cup finals], we just never had yet.”

Pool D: Australia, Canada, Tonga, China

Australia look to have cemented their spot as one of the top four teams in the IRB Circuit with a victory over Fiji last week to remember, and this pool should prove no test in them reaching the last eight once more. 

Canada surprised everyone by reaching the last eight in Wellington after beating France and core side Argentina, and they begin their campaign against Tonga on Day One.

Australia meet the fifth ranked side in Asian Sevens, China, on Friday, and will look to James Stannard, who scored the crucial match winning try against Fiji last week, to make them tick.

China, who are still looking to meet the heights reached by the women’s team will learn valuable experience of competing at this level, and if they can repeat the performance that saw them beat East Asian Games Gold medallists Japan, they could get a victory under their belt against Tonga when they meet last on Day Two.

Pool E: England, Wales, Japan, Hong Kong

England will look to bounce back from their performance in Adelaide where they failed to reach the Cup competition for the first time this season and slipped to fifth in the overall log behind Australia in the process.
Wales will prove the hardest test for them, and they have now reached the Cup quarter finals at the past two events, so we could see both progressing to the Cup competition here.

Japan and Hong Kong will have the partisan crowd behind them, and the hosts begin their campaign against England in a repeat of their opening match at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai last year.

Although they are without injured captain Jeff Wong, who took over the reins this year, due to a reoccurring knee injury, they are sure to improve on the 42-5 loss they suffered last March - if they take the lead again like they did then, expect a different outcome for Dai Rees’ men.

The last time Hong Kong met Japan, Japan edged them 26-24 at the East Asian Games in December – and the Japanese also come in as the form Asian team having won the last leg of the Asian Series in Sri Lanka and the ranking event in Borneo.

Pool F: South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Korea

There is an African flavour to Pool F, with three nations from Africa facing off against Korea, who won the other Asian Sevens ranking event in Shanghai, beating Japan 42-19.

With South Africa looking to establish themselves once again on the IRB circuit, the pool could have been easier, and with the added competition an African rivalry brings, head coach Paul Treu is aware of the task ahead of his team.

"It won't be easy," Treu said.

"Zimbabwe always come for us, and Kenya for some seasons now are not just another team. It's going to be very tough to win our pool and go through to the quarters.”

Kenya, who could prove their biggest threat have recalled Biko Adema, who was missing in Adelaide due to educational reasons. Adema has been a regular on the circuit since he was 20-years-old, and demonstrated his attributes at the World Cup in Dubai.

The South Africans are also tied on points with the Kenyans, so whoever wins their contest on Day Two could go a long way to taking African bragging rights.

Day One - Friday, March 26:
Match 1: Samoa v Italy, 16.30
Match 2: New Zealand v Chinese Taipei, 16.52
Match 3: Fiji v Thailand, 17.14
Match 4: Australia v China, 17.36
Match 5: England v Hong Kong, 17.58
Match 6: Kenya v Korea, 18.20
Match 7: Argentina v Russia, 18.42
Match 8: Scotland v France, 19.32
Match 9: United States v Portugal, 19.54
Match 10: Canada v Tonga, 20.16
Match 11: Wales v Japan, 20.38
Match 12: South Africa v Zimbabwe, 21.00