Preview: Paris Sevens
WORLD SERIES ROUND 10: As the season draws to a close, the race for the series title is more fierce than ever – with only two points separating Fiji (164) and United States (162) in first and second position.
After being crowned Cup champions in London last weekend, Fiji has overtaken the United States on the leaderboard and will be looking for another win this weekend to end their 2019 campaign on a high.
“We will fight for the No.1 spot and we are looking forward to that,” Fiji captain Paula Dranisinukula said.
“It will be an enjoyable weekend for the boys on the field but also for the spectators here in Paris.”
Fiji had double the reason to celebrate last weekend as they also guaranteed their spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by ensuring that they’d finish in the top four of the World Series standings.
They were accompanied by the United States and New Zealand who also earned qualification and South Africa have all but joined them, needing simply to take to the field in Paris to confirm their place.
As well as the top four teams in this season’s World Series automatically qualifying for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, as host nation, Japan will also be represented when Sevens makes its second Olympic Games appearance next year.
Striving to reclaim the top spot in the standings United States captain Madison Hughes commented: “It’s right down to the wire now – it’s been a good season up until this point and the job is to finish it off.
“We know that Fiji is a fantastic team and it’s going to be a tough test so we’re just going to do everything that we can to end on a high note and give ourselves the best possible chance of success.”
Hosts France created history last weekend by beating New Zealand 19-14 in their Cup quarterfinal, which saw them progress to the semifinals where they were defeated by Australia.
They will be hoping that their form continues into their home tournament at the Stade Jean-Bouin this weekend.
“It is a real pleasure to finish the series in Paris because we put in a great performance in London and we hope to continue that form in front of a home crowd,” French captain Jean Pascal Barraque said.
Ireland captain Billy Dardis is looking forward to their Paris Sevens invitational appearance after meeting with an experienced Fiji outfit in the London Sevens quarterfinals, commenting: “We’re delighted to be here in Paris, last week went pretty well for us with a few good wins. Obviously we learnt a lot by playing big teams like Fiji and New Zealand but we’re excited to get going and are looking forward to Saturday.”
The pool draw will see series leaders Fiji take on England, Ireland and Argentina in Pool A.
Pool B features fourth-placed South Africa alongside Wales, Australia and Kenya.
Second-placed United States will battle it out against Canada, Samoa and Spain in Pool C.
Hosts France will line up against New Zealand, Scotland and Japan.
Schedule
(Kick-off is local time – GMT plus two hours)
Saturday, June 1
Canada v Samoa – 11.00
United States v Spain – 11.22
South Africa v Wales – 11.44
Australia v Kenya – 12.06
Ireland v Argentina – 12.28
Fiji v England – 12.50
New Zealand v Scotland – 13.12
France v Japan – 13.34
Canada v Spain – 14.26
United States v Samoa – 14.48
South Africa v Kenya – 15.10
Australia v Wales – 15.32
Ireland v England – 15.54
Fiji v Argentina – 16.16
New Zealand v Japan – 16.38
France v Scotland – 17.00
Samoa v Spain – 17.52
United States v Canada – 18.14
Wales v Kenya – 18.36
Australia v South Africa – 18.58
Argentina v England – 19.20
Fiji v Ireland – 19.42
Scotland v Japan – 20.04
France v New Zealand – 20.26
Source: @WorldRugby7s
