Momentum key for Australia
The Australian Sevens team will be looking to maintain the momentum they have built up recently in the penultimate round of the World Sevens Series in Glasgow this weekend.
Coach Michael O’Connor’s side won their first Cup since London 2010 in Tokyo last month, and tbey followed that up with a victory over World Series champions New Zealand in an exhibition match in Sydney last week.
While the win in Tokyo was a boost and right reward for his hard-working young side, O’Connor knows they still have much to prove and will look to improve on their last two appearances in Scotland, where they finished Cup runners up in 2010 and 2011.
“It was a good win in Tokyo. The players showed a lot of character and desire with their backs to the wall. It was a real test of courage,” O’Connor said.
“Last year in Scotland it was really disappointing that we had an almost an insurmountable lead and lost it right on the bell. Generally Scotland has been good to us, the last two years we’ve played in the final, so it has been a good tournament for us,” he added.
His captain, Ed Jenkins reflects the sentiment, feeling his team can push one step further than they have in the last two years in Scotland.
“The last two years we’ve come away runners up,” Jenkins said. “We always seem to perform well in the last two tournaments of the season. Last year wasn’t the result we wanted, but I’m sure we can turn it around this year and do one better.”
Following a strong start to the Sevens World Series, in which they finished fourth at the inaugural Gold Coast Sevens, injury and youth have hampered the side during the middle stages of the tournament, but O’Connor’s insistence on blooding young players and building depth paid dividends in Tokyo.
Now, with a much larger player base than what he had with at the start of the season, O’Connor is somewhat spoilt for choice in his selections, however injuries to a number of the victorious Tokyo squad have once again forced O’Connor’s hand at the selection table.
Seasoned Sevens youngster Lewis Holland is set to return to the pitch this weekend alongside Ed Stubbs and Solomoni Rasolea who replace Dan Yakapo, Greg Jelodouv and Tom English.
Unlike earlier in the season the new members of the squad, Holland, Stubbs and Rasolea, all bring with them experience at the top level, a fact that pleases O’Connor.
“One of the things we’ve been focused on is getting game time into our younger blokes and building experience,” O’Connor said.
“There is no substitute for game time, it is something that can’t be replicated on the training paddock. While we’ve had to make three changes from Tokyo due to injury the guys coming all have experience on the big stage, which is exactly what we’ve been working towards,” he said.
Australia enter the Glasgow Sevens with 84 series points, ranked sixth overall, immediately behind Samoa, with 101 points.
Following the win in Tokyo, Australia were seeded first for the Glasgow Sevens, named alongside England, United States and Kenya.
Their most recent encounters with England and the United States came in Tokyo, where they beat the USA in pool play and won a thrilling Cup semifinal over England 33-12. They last faced the Kenyans in Wellington, where they lost 12-7 in a tightly contested Bowl Final.
Australian Sevens Squad: Damon Anderson, Jesse Parahi, Sean McMahon, Solomoni Rasolea, Jordan Tuapou, Con Foley, Allan Faalavaau, Ed Stubbs, Ed Jenkins (captain), Matt Lucas, Lewis Holland, Shannon Walker.
