FROM IRBSEVENS.COM

Here we are, walking into the unknown again. We have a new venue, a new stadium, and a third back-to-back tournament for the teams.

The fitness levels will certainly come into play and really will count for so very much this weekend. But the one thing I would say is that the home team for this tournament, South Africa, were a team missing their key player and their inspiration, Cecil Afrika, in Dubai.

He has been saved and back on home soil I believe they will certainly lift their game for the home fans in a new stadium provided he is back in action as his absence was obvious in Dubai.

They will be the one team who will benefit the most from this third tournament. Just as England in Dubai in their second home, South Africa will be going back to Port Elizabeth in this wonderful stadium which I am excited to see.

I think they may be a bit more determined and a bit more committed and will probably be the team who might lift their game more than anyone else.

But I wouldn’t want to be in New Zealand’s squad for the next few days training either. I am sure Gordon Tietjens will have some strong words to say to his side because the problem they have at the moment is they don’t have the backup.

He relied on his group of experienced players but Tomasi Cama and Lote Raikabula, who are always so influential, weren’t at their peak, and they seemed to struggle to find the form we are so accustomed to seeing with the reigning Series champions.

New directions

England will, of course, go into the tournament with a new confidence and I haven’t seen Ben Ryan smiling as he was at the end of Dubai for a long time.

And France too are thinking they are back in the big time, and they haven’t been for six years, but is makes it so wide open and exciting for this weekend ahead. I don’t know what happened with Samoa either in Dubai, their heads went down, they were out of it and that was significant, but they will come fighting back.

Fiji, if they play like they did last week they will be in contention to win that Cup title as they will throughout the season, they have the depth. They made a few mistakes which can turn a tie but it is exciting now and you can look at any team winning here.

I don’t think I have ever seen France third in any of the 13 Series before and looking down that list it is so wide open.

Too often I guess you have seen a team out in front, establishing a lead and maintaining it all season. Here, who knows what is going to happen.

The tightness at the top, and the ability for A team to beat B team on any day is absolutely true. It is exciting, and it is developing, and with that it is encouraging people to really get involved in it and now It goes around the world to 120 countries and you see these teams on a level in this elite group, and this group is getting bigger by every tournament.

So I am just very excited to see which direction this Series is going to take next, starting in Port Elizabeth.