Preview: London Sevens
World Rugby’s 2016/17 Sevens Series ends off in London this weekend with 16 teams competing in round 10 of the 10-leg tournament.
All 16 teams have arrived in London as sides get set for the last round of the World Rugby Sevens Series this coming weekend.
Twickenham plays host to the 10th round of the series, just days after South Africa wrapped up the competition with a win in Paris.
But there is still lots to play for in Twickenham, not least for Scotland who won in London last year and were beaten in the final by South Africa on Sunday.
Captain Scott Riddell said: “I think we had a collective belief among the boys (in Paris last weekend). There’s great experience in that squad now. We weren’t chasing results at the weekend and that put us in the ascendency.
“Last year in London (where Scotland claimed their first ever sevens tournament win) was a great day. It was incredible to be involved with. It would be great to put ourselves in that position again this weekend but we’re not getting carried away and focusing on day one at the moment. In this sport you can’t look to far ahead so we need to look at our next game.”
South Africa captain Phillip Snyman said that, despite the series win, his side are very focused on winning yet another tournament this season.
“It was a relief to win the series and it’s good not to have to go into the last tournament needing a win. We set high standards for ourselves and hopefully we can be successful and lift the London Cup trophy as well."
After nine rounds of the series, England skipper Tom Mitchell is looking forward to a tournament on home soil:
“The support we’ve had throughout the whole season has been phenomenal, but finishing the series in front of a home crowd at Twickenham means so much to the entire squad.
"The HSBC London Sevens is always a unique and exciting tournament which brings a real festival atmosphere to Twickenham and we can’t wait to be a part of it.”
USA’s Folau Niua will play in his 50th series tournament this weekend while his team-mate Perry Baker will be hoping to secure top try scorer for the series when it’s announced on Sunday evening in London. Baker, who has notched up 49 tries, currently leads England's Dan Norton by four in the chase for top try scorer.
Meanwhile, the nominations for the World Rugby Sevens Rookie of the Year have been announced ahead of the last round of the series.
Argentina’s Matias Osadczuk, Fiji’s Kalione Nasoko and New Zealand’s Vilimoni Koroi all impressed in their debut year and the winner will be announced at the awards ceremony that follows the tournament on Sunday evening in Twickenham.
Pools
Pool A: South Africa, USA, Wales, Kenya
Pool B: Scotland, France, Argentina, Russia
Pool C: New Zealand, Fiji, Canada, Japan
Pool D: England, Samoa, Australia, Spain
Day One Fixtures:
(Kick-off is local time – GMT plus one hour)
Fiji v Canada (09:30)
New Zealand v Japan (09:52)
France v Argentina (10:14)
Scotland v Russia (10:36)
USA v Wales (10:58)
SA v Kenya (11:20)
Samoa v Australia (11:42)
England v Spain (12:04)
Fiji v Japan (12:36)
New Zealand v Canada (12:58)
France v Russia (13:20)
Scotland v Argentina (13:42)
USA v Kenya (14:04)
SA v Wales (14:26)
Samoa v Spain (14:48)
England v Australia (15:10)
Canada v Japan (15:42)
New Zealand v Fiji (16:04)
Argentina v Russia (16:26)
Scotland v France (16:48)
Wales v Kenya (17:10)
SA v USA (17:32)
Australia v Spain (17:54)
England v Samoa (18:16)
Overall Standings
1 South Africa – 179
2 England – 145
3 Fiji – 142
4 New Zealand – 127
5 USA – 114
6 Australia – 101
7 Scotland – 87
8 Canada – 81
9 Argentina – 80
10 Wales – 66
11 France – 61
12 Kenya – 58
13 Samoa – 48
14 Russia – 27
15 Japan – 19
16 Chile – 6
17 Uganda – 4
18 Papua New Guinea – 2
19 Spain – 1
20 Hong Kong – 1
21 South Korea – 1