Preview: Japan Sevens

 

The Blitzboks of South Africa, although having not won a Cup title in three rounds, sit first (110 points) and have finished third in Hong Kong, Las Vegas and Wellington following their back-to-back triumphs in Dubai and Port Elizabeth. 

 

Ben Ryan's Fiji are knocking on the door of the South African outfit sitting in second spot (108 points), while the All Blacks Sevens (107 points) are third having appeared in the last four Cup finals – winning once on home soil in Wellington. 

 

the Top 3 sides, with such a large gap between 4th position, could further their chances of securing a place in Rio de Janeiro[Rio] 2016.

 

For the BlitzBoks though the focus at Japan will be on making it to the finals and winning a Cup, having almost secured qualification for Olympics already. 

 

Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell said: "That's why it was important for us to do so well at Hong Kong, to make sure we are now in that Top 4, its not a definite yet but the chances of us not qualifying from here are slim. 

 

"We would really like go out in this tournament and play in the final this time around. We want to play in Finals and not third place play-offs."

 

The Blitzboks have been dealt two injury blows resulting in late replacements having to be flown in to Japan. 

 

The versatile Philip Snyman sustained a knee ligament injury while playing on Saturday in Hong Kong, and will be replaced by Western Province under-21 star Carel Du Preez.

 

Du Preez is currently contracted to the SA Sevens Academy and he has already played a couple of times for the Academy at tournaments in George, Dubai and Harare.

 

The other change sees youngster Ruhen Nel covering for Stephan Dippenaar who injured his hamstring in the Hong Kong leg.

 

Powell said he is looking forward to seeing what du Preez has to offer.

 

"Obviously loosing Philly[Phillip Snyman] is a big loss for us but we get a quality youngster in who can play at this level in Du Preez and I'm looking forward to see him play on the circuit and see what he is capable of"

 

When asked what went wrong in the Hong Kong Cup leg, Powell added: "one or two systems errors, I think there are plenty of positives we can take out from this weekend[Hong Kong], a lot more intensity and energy, and defensively the guys stuck to the systems and that showed when they only conceded one try in the pool stages"

 

With three rounds to go on the series – in Tokyo, Glasgow and London – and with Australia and England a further 23 and 29 points behind, the three Cup winners this season look set to confirm qualification for the Olympics sooner rather than later, while Geraint John's Australia and Simon Amor's England, who are qualifying on behalf of Team Great Britain, appear to be locked in battle for the fourth spot.

 

In Hong Kong the two sides met in the Plate semifinals and with Australia eventually beating the USA in the Plate final giving them three points more than England, and one of their stars this season is aware of the importance of a strong finish to the season.

 

"It was great to get a win over England," said Australia's Cameron Clark. "It obviously pushes us a little further ahead in the scheme of the series tally but it’s still very close.

 

"We’d like to widen the gap, a Cup victory to either team will definitely put them ahead. We’re working on a few things and starting to play some good rugby and compete against those top sides.

 

"We’d like to finish on a high. We’ve only played off in one final this year and lost to South Africa so that Cup victory is something we’re still chasing for this season. It would be great to have a few good finishes in the tournaments to come and wrap up a spot in Rio."

 

If England, who are fifth after six rounds, were to win the remaining three Cups on offer, New Zealand would need 38 points, Fiji 37 and South Africa 35 to guarantee their places in Rio, but a win for any of the only three sides to have tasted victory since the 2013 Wellington Sevens (22 tournaments) in Tokyo this weekend would put them one step closer to realising their dream.

 

Following three consecutive defeats in the Cup semifinals, at the hands of eventual winners New Zealand in Wellington and Fiji in both Las Vegas and Hong Kong, you ’d be forgiven for thinking the series frontrunners, South Africa were starting to feel the pressure.

 

Not so, says inspirational captain Kyle Brown ahead of Round Seven of the series in Tokyo, with the Blitzboks still on top of the standings albeit by just two points.

 

"We were a bit off the pace in Wellington and Vegas but judging from last week’s performance I think we played some really good quality rugby."

 

While they may not have held the Cup aloft since their home tournament in Port Elizabeth back in December, South Africa have finished third at each subsequent event ensuring they maintain their position at top of the series standings with 110 points.

 

"It’s something that we spoke about almost two years ago, something that has been a key success factor for teams that have won the series over the last couple of years, consistency," added Brown.

 

"It’s always about being in the top four almost every tournament, winning a couple of tournaments along the way is always a bonus but making sure you are up there every single time and maximizing points out of every event."

 

Reflecting on back-to-back Cup semifinal losses to Fiji, Brown says knowing how Ben Ryan's side play is one thing, stopping them is quite another.

 

"We looked at a couple of game plans we could tweak to counter anything but in the end we gave them too much ball, made too many mistakes and that will be the end of your game.

 

"It’s all good us playing well in the second half but if you are going to give them 21 points in the first half it’s going to be a very tough day for you."

 

With a quick turnaround on the back of a physically draining tournament in Hong Kong, the Blitzboks are determined to stick to the formula that has rewarded them to date and seen them win here in Tokyo once before in 2013.

 

"It’s the same thing you have to do in most tournaments, play rugby for the whole weekend through. It’s a good tournament here in Tokyo and it’s up there for the taking.

 

"It’s going to be one of those tournaments where the fittest team comes through and the teams that want it the most are going to be the ones that shine at the top."

 

It's the perfect scenario for the resilient South Africa. Kyle Brown has no doubt his side is up for the challenge.

 

Pool A: Fiji, Wales, England, Hong Kong

Pool B: New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, Portugal

Pool C: South Africa, Canada, United States, Kenya

Pool D: Samoa, France, Argentina, Japan

 

 

(Kick-off is local time – GMT plus nine hours)

 

Fiji v Wales – 10.00

England v Hong Kong – 10.22

New Zealand v Scotland – 10.44

Australia v Portugal – 11.06

United States v Kenya – 11.50

Samoa v France – 12.12

Argentina v Japan – 12.34

Fiji V Hong Kong – 13.18

England v Wales – 13.40

New Zealand v Portugal – 14.02

Australia v Scotland – 14.24

South Africa v Kenya – 14.46

United States v Canada – 15.08

Samoa v Japan – 15.30

Argentina v France – 15.52

Fiji v England – 17.30

Wales v Hong Kong – 17.52

New Zealand v Australia – 18.14

Scotland v Portugal – 18.36

South Africa v United States – 18.58

Canada v Kenya – 19.20

Samoa v Argentina – 19.42

France v Japan – 20.04