HSBC World Sevens Series 2022-23

First topic message reminder :

Finally back in Hong Kong from today. This season sees England, Scotland and Wales competing as Great Britain. The first match didn't go well

France 34-0 Great Britain

Then again, another team also went down without scoring a point:

New Zealand 0-24 Samoa

GB have South Africa and Uruquay in the pool, which looks a tough ask on today's form.

The GB squad in Hong Kong is basically the core of the old Scottish side, coached by Tony Roques, with the Scottish coach, Ciaran Beattie, having oveall responsibility for the mens and women teams.

Robbie Fergusson (SCO) (player-coach)
Max McFarland (SCO)
Paddy Kelly (SCO)
Jamie Farndale (SCO)
Will Homer (ENG)
Morgan Williams (WAL)
Ross McCann (SCO)
Alec Coombes (SCO)
Jamie Barden (ENG)
Femi Sofolarin (SCO)
Tom Emery (ENG)
Freddie Roddick (ENG)
Kaleem Barreto (SCO)

Ireland have gone 22-0 up against GB with just over two minutes to go. That will be a morale boost, as the two teams will be competing for a single Olympic qualifying spot next month.

Didnt expect that as Ireland really arent very good at the moment. Very poor in attack in my view. Decent at everything else.

Good final. Before the match, both New Zealand and Argentina were confirmed as Olympic qualifiers, and New Zealand as this season's Series Champions.

Argentina, NZ, Australia and Fiji are the top tier in my view and the main contenders for the Olympics. Everyone else only has a long shot.

Collapse2005 wrote:Argentina, NZ, Australia and Fiji are the top tier in my view and the main contenders for the Olympics. Everyone else only has a long shot.

In general, you are certainly right. However, knock-out sevens competitions are a different beast. Wales won a Sevens World Cup, and Ireland finished third in the same competition last year! Fiji have won both Olympic golds, and were good value for both, Still, there were a few upsets along the way. GB and Argentina were unexpected semi-finalists in Tokyo.

The Olympic set-up adds some randomness, as there are twelve teams, rather than 16, and so only three pools. The top two go through from each pool, then two of the best third place finishers. That usually means points difference, so it often comes down to who managed to run up a big score against weaker opposition. As Argentina are automatic qualifiers, then someone like Uruguay or Chile will be at the Games.

The Paris Olympic sevens will be in July, while World Cup sevens are usually in September. the off-kilter Olympic timing seems to produce more injuries, which can pose a problem, as squads are small. That was a big factor in New Zealand's 2016 failure. Nowadays, of course, we have more cards too, which can be game changers.

The final leg of the season takes place in London this weekend.

Unless you are Stephen Jones, who wrote a report slamming the London Sevens. He had obviously written his hit piece in advance, but the Times accidentally put it up on their website before the event had taken place. It was taken down, so we'll see whether it reappears in the same form later.

GB has often been described as the most-improved team, managing a run of quarter-final qualifications, after some poor early rounds. Any hope of ending on a high note looks very slim now the pools have been set. GB have NZ, South Africa and USA, which is a tall order. Ireland also have a tough group, in with Argentina, Fiji and Japan.

London has an extra twist, as there will be a play-off pool, consisting of Uruguay, Kenya, Canada and Tonga. Next season, there will be only 12 core teams, and those four teams are competing to see who gets to stay at the top table. Japan has already lost core status, after finishing bottom of the table.

A fox just ran across the pitch during the France-Samoa match.

Well, GB have opened with a 19-15 over South Africa, which makes the pool interesting. A loss would have almost certainly led to an early exit from the main competition.

GB will probably need two good wins to progress to a quarter-final spot, and victory over NZ is a long-shot. USA are only just above us in the season standings, and are a very hot and cold team. If we get them on a bad day, then we'll have a chance.

Argentina are destroying Fiji in their pool game. It's quite something how they have become a leading team on the sevens circuit. They also have some of the most charismatic players. Ireland will have their hands full when they meet.

Still, Ireland ran up a big score against Japan, which could yet see them make the quarter finals as one of the two best third-placed finishers.

What do I know? Ireland beat Argentina 12-14. The top three teams in that pool all have seven points, so it's on the cards they will all progress to the quarter finals.

GB managed a win over USA, so have managed a quarter final spot in the their leg.

Olympic Qualifiers:

Men - NZ, Argentina, Fiji, France, Australia (Australia finally claimed the last place, ahead of Samoa, by beating GB in a 7th place play-off)

Women - NZ, Australia, USA, France, Ireland

Argentina won the Men's title in London, finishing with an impressive three titles across the season, and three silvers. NZ had 5 titles, two silvers and one bronze.

We now move to the Olympic play-offs. In London, when Ireland faced GB, Ireland won 19-12, without key players like Conroy, so that will be a boost. While you can't write-off Spain Portugual etc, the two leading favourites for the European qualifying spot will be Ireland and GB.

The favourites in the other regional qualifiers will be Samoa, USA, South Africa, Japan and, probably, Uruguay.

If Ireland or GB do miss out on the European qualifying spot, there's a final spot play-off next year, so the hope is that major challengers like Samoa, USA & South Africa do win the regional qualifiers, so they don't end up as rivals for that last spot.

As it is, the last place tournament will probably feature Canada, Kenya Tonga etc, so that will pose a major challenge in its own right.

Incidentally, the London semi-final between Fiji and New Zealand was a good showcase for what Sevens can offer.

Ahead of the European Olympic qualifier, the Algarve 7s this weekend features some of the teams which will be competing. It's been said placings here determine the draw for the qualifier.

Ireland men just played GB and came away with a 12-7 win. That means Ireland have beaten GB in their last two meetings, which should give them confidence. While other European sides could put a spanner in the works, Ireland or GB are the most likely to claim the spot.

It was a good defensive showing from Ireland. GB had a lot of possession but you could see them getting frustrated. At one stage, it looked like GB might be held scoreless.

After both came through the quarter-final stage, Ireland and GB will meet again in a semi-final match. France play Georgia in the other one.

This will be the last time the two teams play each other before the Olympic qualifier.

Georgia just beat France 14-7 in the first semi-final, which is a real turn-up.

Not sure if France rested some of their key players but they beat GB fairl handily before.

Makes Georgia a team to watch in the Olympic qualifier.

Ireland beat GB again, this time 14-7. GB had bit of poor luck. with an injured player out of the game during Ireland's second score. Still that's three consecutive wins for Ireland over GB, and all in a similar fashion.

Ireland beat Georgia 19-10 to take the Algarve 7s title. In the third place play-off, France beat GB 21-14. As the loss to Georgia showed, France fielded an inexperienced side in Portugal, so GB would have wanted a win.

GB have lost the cohesion the team started to find mid-season, while Ireland have rediscovered the dog they lost over the last rounds of the HSBC season. Terry Kennedy is back too, which will be handy for the Olympic qualifiers, even though he's short of game time.

Men's teams confirmed for sevens at the European Games in Poland, which doubles as the men's Olympic qualifier. Starts on the 21st of June:

Belgium, Czech Republic, Spain, Great Britain, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal and Romania

On form, the top teams are probably Ireland, GB, Spain, Portugal, Georgia & Germany.

The women's teams have also been confirmed:

Belgium, Czech Republic, Spain, Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Turkey

Ireland Women have already qualified for the Olympics so, if they win gold, the silver medallist will take the qualifying spot. GB have a fair chance here.

Today is the first day of sevens at the European Games in Krakow. GB face Romania and Lithuania, with Portugal tomorrow. Portugal are capable of springing a surprise, though we should be confident of three wins.

Ireland have Poland and Italy, with Germany tomorrow.

Incidentally, it looks like Antoine Dupont will skip the club season in 2023/4, and try to get a place on the French sevens team for the Olympics. Rugby Sevens may have an incredibly low profile in Britain but it looks like one of the world's best XVs players will be in the shorter code.

While there's little chance chance of a leading British player to Sevens, you'd think with three Premiership clubs imploding, and a lot of talent without work, the GB sevens programme ought to have a bigger pool to choose from than we crrently do.

GB 45-0 Romania
GB 24-0 Lituania

Ireland 66-0 Poland
Ireland 38-7 Italy

GB looking a bit clunky. Portugal up next. They beat Romania 45-7 and Lithuania by 38-12, which is on a par with our scores against the same opposition, so we'll need to improve.

England 31-5 Portugal

Quarter-final opponent yet to be decided.

Ireland 19-7 Germany

https://results.european-games.org/EG2023/ENG/schedule/RU7/2023-06-26/all-event

A bit closer than Ireland would have liked but they are also through to the quarter-finals

The four knockout matches start at 18:15pm, and are free to view on

https://europeangames.tv/

GB have Germany in the quarter-final. Given the restricted Ireland in the pool matches, that's not a game to take lightly.

GB 14-10 Germany
Ireland 26-12 Belgium

Squeaky for GB, with two conversions making the difference.

Ireland now play Portugal in the semi-final, while GB play Spain.

Spain haven't lost a match so far, and pose a real threat. Ahead of the last Olympics, they beat out Samoa for the last qualifying spot, so GB will have to somehow raise their game to get to a final. Portugal have that one loss to GB. Ireland should be comfortable winners but sevens can always throw up a surprise.

Play in the women's semi-final, between GB and Belgium had to be suspended after the sheets shielding the terraces got wrapped around the top of a set of the posts. The fire brigade had to be called.

Photos here:

https://twitter.com/GBRugbySevens/status/1673629540898226176

Ireland 24-0 Portugal

Ireland comfortable against a spirited Portugal. They now face GB or Spain for a place at the Olympics.

GB 19-7 Spain

Spain scored first, and the match never looked comfortably won for GB until Spain were penalized with less than a minute to go. While GB have a couple of players with good 0-15m acceleration, there's no-one with flat-out pace like Dan Norton had, and Jordan Conroy has now.

Ireland and GB will now play for an Olympic spot at around 20:35 tonight. Should be free to view here:

https://europeangames.tv/

On the weekend's form, Ireland are favourites. They have also beaten GB in the last three or four outings, and Terry Kennedy is better than any player in the GB squad. Still, anything can happen in sevens.

Ireland 26-12 GB

Ireland Men are going to the Olympics (Ireland Women qualified through the Series)

GB Women beat Poland to get their Olympic spot. GB Men have one last shot next year. They will have to be a lot better.

Good result for Ireland but unless Kennedy plays they havent a hope at the Olympics. Id imagine GB will qualify to in the next event.

I heard that Antoine Dupont will play for the France 7s side at the Olympics next year so wont play in the 6 nations for France.

Collapse2005 wrote:Good result for Ireland but unless Kennedy plays they havent a hope at the Olympics. Id imagine GB will qualify to in the next event.

Unfortunately, that's not a given. Samoa, USA & South Africa all have to win their regional qualifiers. If one of them slips up, then GB will have to face them. If those three do win, that will still leave Tonga, Canada, and Kenya, who are all capable of beating GB on current form. It may be that other European sides like Spain qualify for the final reparcharge, and they are also capable of spinning a surprise.

Assuming Rugby Sevens stays as an Olympic sport - which isn't a given - qualification will only get tougher for European sides. This year, France qualify automatically as hosts. GB may be lucky, and we'll see three European sides competing in France but that's likely to be the last time.

As the Dupont news shows, France is taking sevens far more seriously than GB, which is a real role reversal. The rest of the rugby world in England, Scotland and Wales has so many problems on its plate, the dire state of Sevens has gone entirely unnoticed. Ireland have developed a decent programme, though it remains to see how well it can be sustained.

Rugby Fan wrote:As the Dupont news shows, France is taking sevens far more seriously than GB, which is a real role reversal.

For the Paris Olympics, will be interesting to see if they push on from there or not.

Lowlandbrit wrote:

Rugby Fan wrote:As the Dupont news shows, France is taking sevens far more seriously than GB, which is a real role reversal.

For the Paris Olympics, will be interesting to see if they push on from there or not.

France finished fourth in the HSBC series this year, which is their best ever finish, so they have been putting the effort in for a number of years. Virimi Vakatawa used to play sevens and XVs for them in a way only Fijian-born players seem to be able to do with any real success and consistency.

Dupont will put a spotlight on sevens at the Games in a way few Northern hemisphere players can manage. Sonny Bill Williams got a lot of publicity when he tried out for the 2012 NZ Olympic side. Unfortunately, he got injured, and NZ lost to Japan during a poor tournament, so his participation went largely unnoticed.

Victoria has pulled out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games (which affects rugby, as sevens has been one of the events since 1998).

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-66229574

There weren't many cities keen to host it, so the future of the Games has been thrown into doubt. Hosts are usually chosen seven years out. Birmingham hosted the 2022 Games on only five years notice, after Durban was removed as host. We are now only three years away, so no-one without the infrastructure could plan and build it in time.

If the Games doesn't take place, there will be no reason for England, Scotland and Wales to send separate teams, so that may be the final nail in the coffin for any sevens outside the Team GB set-up.

The Oceania Sevens is running this weekend. Part of the tournament decided the regional Olympic qualifier, with Fiji, NZ and Australia already automatically qualified. As expected Samoa claimed the spot, seeing off the challenge of sides like Tonga, PNG and the Cook Islands.

That's a bit of good news for GB. If Samoa had slipped up, then they would hav gome on to challenge for the final reparcharge spot, which is GB's last chance.

Antoine Dupont has confirmed he'll be missing the Six Nations to concentrate on Sevens, ahead of the Paris Olympics. Reports say Arthur Vincent, Sekou Macalou and one of Damian Penaud or Louis Bielle-Biarrey will join him

Michael Hooper has also signed up with Rugby Australia for Sevens.

Meanwhile, most English, Scottish and Welsh rugby supporters would be hard pressed to name a single player in the GB sevens squad.

Also, looking back on a previous conversation..

Rugby Fan wrote:

Collapse2005 wrote:Good result for Ireland but unless Kennedy plays they havent a hope at the Olympics. Id imagine GB will qualify to in the next event.

Unfortunately, that's not a given. Samoa, USA & South Africa all have to win their regional qualifiers. If one of them slips up, then GB will have to face them....

While Samoa and USA won their regional qualifiers, South Africa went down 17-12 to Kenya in a shock defeat. That's awful news for GB, as South Africa can be one of the best teams in the world on their day. The final Olympics place will be contested by Chile, Brazil, Spain, Tonga, PNG, Canada, Mexico, Uganda, and whoever comes out of the Asian qualifier. GB would usually be favourites against all of those but we'll be heavy underdogs if we face the Blitzbokke.

Sevens is a much different sport these days to union, so a player transferring over may not improve or even make the squads. Habana was cut from the SA squad, Caleb Clarke only made the reserve squad for NZ, Jarred Payne couldn't make the Fijian squad etc etc.

LeinsterFan4life wrote:Sevens is a much different sport these days to union, so a player transferring over may not improve or even make the squads. Habana was cut from the SA squad, Caleb Clarke only made the reserve squad for NZ, Jarred Payne couldn't make the Fijian squad etc etc.

Bryan Habana hardly played on the Sevens circuit during the 2015/6 scene, as he had club commitments with Toulon. Francois Hougaard and Ryan Kankowski also tried to switch, and Hougaard ended up with a bronze medal despite only being a travelling reserve. Quade Cooper didn't have an Australian passport, so he was always on the backfoot trying to get an Olympic place.

The Irish influence has got the better of you with Jarred Payne. You are thinking of Jarryd Hayne. He just didn't have enough games in the code to get up to speed. He only played one full round of top level sevens when you need, like Dupont, to commit for the whole season to give yourself a good chance.

Fijian-born players seem to make the switch seamlesslly, including those turning our for other nations, like Virimi Vakatawa. The only other player with the same all round ability was Sonny Bill Williams, who was unlucky enough to play for a NZ sevens side in Rio which succumbed to pressure, even losing to Japan.

Most international XVs players try to switch too late in the day, as they have club commitments. Wasps scrum half Joe Simpson might have made the cut for GB sevens in Rio but got a bad injury during the final trials. It probably didn't help that he was coming off a long club season.

Rugby Fan wrote:

LeinsterFan4life wrote:Sevens is a much different sport these days to union, so a player transferring over may not improve or even make the squads. Habana was cut from the SA squad, Caleb Clarke only made the reserve squad for NZ, Jarred Payne couldn't make the Fijian squad etc etc.

Bryan Habana hardly played on the Sevens circuit during the 2015/6 scene, as he had club commitments with Toulon. Francois Hougaard and Ryan Kankowski also tried to switch, and Hougaard ended up with a bronze medal despite only being a travelling reserve. Quade Cooper didn't have an Australian passport, so he was always on the backfoot trying to get an Olympic place.

The Irish influence has got the better of you with Jarred Payne. You are thinking of Jarryd Hayne. He just didn't have enough games in the code to get up to speed. He only played one full round of top level sevens when you need, like Dupont, to commit for the whole season to give yourself a good chance.

Fijian-born players seem to make the switch seamlesslly, including those turning our for other nations, like Virimi Vakatawa. The only other player with the same all round ability was Sonny Bill Williams, who was unlucky enough to play for a NZ sevens side in Rio which succumbed to pressure, even losing to Japan.

Most international XVs players try to switch too late in the day, as they have club commitments. Wasps scrum half Joe Simpson might have made the cut for GB sevens in Rio but got a bad injury during the final trials. It probably didn't help that he was coming off a long club season.

Indeed thanks for the correction on Hayne. The thing is that you have to completely change your diet and fitness regime, which will also change you physically in order to compete at the top level of sevens. It's a massive gamble for union players.

Ruck comes up with an Olympic Dream Team for GB

https://www.ruck.co.uk/olympic-dream-team-ultimate-7s-team-gb-sevens-rugby/3/

1. Sione Tuipulotu
2. Jac Morgan
3. Duhan van der Merwe
4. Harry Randall
5. Marcus Smith
6. Louis Rees-Zammit
7. Adam Radwan
8. Ben Earl
9. George North
10. Finn Russell
11. Joe Marchant
12. Henry Arundell

They are all good players, who could do a job in the shorter code. However, it's a squad which would hardly have any ball.

There are only two forwards, and neither is over six feet tall. A key part of Sevens is taking and receiving kick-offs. When taking kick-offs, you jump to compete, while receiving them usually has a lifter and jumper. In England's sevens heyday, which was the core of the 2012 Olympic side, 6'4" James Rodwell did both.

While North and Van der Merwe are both tall, you couldn't really train either to play that role at a top level in Sevens. Simpler to get an athletic second row, or tall backrower. For instance, Dave Ribbans is 6'7".

There are also a number of players who can make instinctive breaks but, unless they score, we'd probably lose possession in a turnover. Instinctive breaks tend to take you away from your support, so half the squad needs to be the type of player who can respond to a teammate making a break, and compete on the ball. You don't need all three of LRZ, Radwan and Arundell. Nor do you need both Smith and Russell.

The most important quality for all players in sevens is repeatabilty. There's no point selecting a speedster who can outpace everyone on the pitch, if it takes them a minute before they can do it again. You can get away with it in XVs, as there are enough breaks to recover. Ma'a Nonu was once asked to name the fastest rugby player he knew, and, to everyone's surprise, he said Chris Ashton. They played together at Toulon. Nonu said Ashton wasn't just fast, he was always fast.  

So, picking a Sevens squad, coaches will want to know which players have natural repeatability, and high work rate.

On the BBC podcast, Danny Care said Dupont could take France to Olympic gold. Chris Jones chimed in, saying it wouldn't be that easy, with competition like Fiji, NZ, and GB.

It's amazing the BBC rugby union correspondent is unaware GB has not yet qualified for the Olympics, and may well not qualify, given that South Africa is also vying for the last available spot.

While Sevens is not on the radar of most supporters, there's little chance pundits from other leading rugby nations wouldn't know something like that.

Dubai Sevens, sorry, SNVS, on this weekend.

Neither Dupont nor Hooper are named in the squads on the tournament website.

If Team GB was hoping for some moment ahead of the reparcharge play-off, then it hasn't been a good start.

France 35-0 GBR
GBR 12-36 USA

and Fiji next up. Oops

Ireland are:

Aus 12-19 Ireland
Ireland 35-10 Spain

Confusingly, GB have just put 24 unanswered points against Fiji. A Bath University student called Austin Emens has scored two tries against them in his debut tournament.

Fiji might have rested some players, after already beating France and USA, but that's still a good result for GB.

First round of quarter finals in the re-jigged SVNS series

SA - 24-7 Aus
Ire 24-29 Fiji
USA 0-40 NZ
Samoa 14-21 Argentina

Close score for Ireland, and a wipeout for USA. Australia haven't looked at their best so far. Even so, GB won't take much comfort from that result, as we have to beat South Africa in the repechage to get an Olympic spot.

Semi-finals

SA 14-7 Fiji
NZ 19-21 Argentina

As if to drive the point home, South Africa went on to beat Fiji. Argentina edging NZ is one of the bigger shocks, given how easily NZ dispatched USA.

GB will face France in the 9th place play-off. Ireland face Samoa for the 5th place play-off.

Incidentally, for all the pats on the back about women's rugby in England, the GB womens team on the SVNS circuit is underwhelming. They also didn't make the quarter-final cut, and just lost 21-0 to Japan for a chance to place 9th. They will now play Spain to see who finishes 11th or 12th.

It's quite something that the England women's XV team is regularly contesting to be the best in the world, while the GB womens SVNS side is playing to avoid being the worst on the circuit.

Ireland 28-5 Samoa
France 22-0 GB

Nice win for Ireland sees them finish 5th. GB held scoreless by France, and finish 10th.

Rugby Fan wrote:Dubai Sevens, sorry, SNVS, on this weekend.

Neither Dupont nor Hooper are named in the squads on the tournament website.

If Team GB was hoping for some moment ahead of the reparcharge play-off, then it hasn't been a good start.

France 35-0 GBR
GBR 12-36 USA

and Fiji next up. Oops

Ireland are:

Aus 12-19 Ireland
Ireland 35-10 Spain

Any site to follow the results? The official HSBC Svns site has had a catastrophic redesign, seems to have been designed for the visually impaired on acid and defaults to the women's results every time you select a stage of the competition. Can't find it on Wiki either.

Galted wrote:Any site to follow the results?  The official HSBC Svns site has had a catastrophic redesign, seems to have been designed for the visually impaired on acid and defaults to the women's results every time you select a stage of the competition.

I used the official site but, as you say, it's not a pleasant experience. You have to narrow to Men's results and then the day you want. Maybe it'll become more intuitive. Meanwhile, none of feeds which used to pick up sevens results have kicked into gear yet.

South Africa edged Argentina 12-7 to win the first round of this inaugural SVNS. It's a measure of the unpredictability of the short code that South Africa didn't make it through their regional African qualifier, being turned over by Kenya, who aren't even on the main circuit.

Still, GB will have to beat them to get an Olympic spot, which looks a tall order right now. We did at least manage wins over Canada and Spain, who will also be in that final Olympic place repechage.

Next leg is in Cape Town

Ireland and GB have been drawn in the same pool, with USA and South Africa

I do bang on about this but it's worth putting on the record.

As far as I can tell, the main rugby media in England, Wales and Scotland, including the BBC, have no coverage of the Dubai SVNS and the performance of GB. The official national union sites for all three sides also do not cover the tournament, or even list squad members.

If you want to know anything about either the GB mens or womens teams, then there is a Twitter account, @GBRugbySevens. It was started in 2021, and has only 5,505 followers. By contrast, Spain 7s has an Instagram account with 12,500 followers.

Meanwhile, national media in most other major rugby nations had coverage (examples below). Where national media fell short, the offical union site usually had a report.

GB Sevens is a joke right now. Instead of three unions combining to provide a more coherent Olympic pathway, England, Wales and Scotland have abdicated responsilbility for the sevens programme, leaving it orphaned.

As such, the programme does nothing to promote the game or develop players and officials. In the absence of any public comment, it's not even clear what any of the three unions want from it. It feels like they want to do the bare minimum, to say they have a presence in Sevens. However, they are not even living up to this extremely modest ambition.

South Africa:

https://www.rnews.co.za/thats-it-blitzbokke/

Australia:

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/australia-snap-nz-s-record-41-game-winning-streak-20231204-p5eorq.html

New Zealand:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby/dubai-sevens-black-ferns-sevens-beaten-in-final-all-blacks-sevens-finish-third/QNMTONUX5VGP5NPKNGEJLQP76M/

France:

https://www.lequipe.fr/Rugby-a-7/Actualites/L-equipe-de-france-eliminee-en-phase-de-poules-a-dubai/1434765

Fiji:

https://www.fbcnews.com.fj/sports/sevens/fiji-go-down-to-nz-in-3rd-place-play-off-south-africa-wins-title/

Argentina:

https://www.lanacion.com.ar/deportes/rugby/los-pumas-7s-perdieron-ante-sudafrica-en-la-final-del-seven-de-dubai-nid03122023/

Ireland (IRFU site):

https://www.irishrugby.ie/2023/12/03/fifth-and-sixth-place-finishes-for-ireland-7s-in-dubai/

Canada:

https://rugby.ca/fr/actualites/2023/12/l-equipe-feminine-de-rugby-a-vii-du-canada-entame-la-saison-avec-une-quatrieme-place-a-dubai

Spain (Union site):

https://ferugby.es/rivales-y-grupo-de-espana-para-el-hsbc-svns-de-ciudad-del-cabo-la-segunda-y-ultima-parada-del-ano/

Galted wrote:

Rugby Fan wrote:Dubai Sevens, sorry, SNVS, on this weekend.

Neither Dupont nor Hooper are named in the squads on the tournament website.

If Team GB was hoping for some moment ahead of the reparcharge play-off, then it hasn't been a good start.

France 35-0 GBR
GBR 12-36 USA

and Fiji next up. Oops

Ireland are:

Aus 12-19 Ireland
Ireland 35-10 Spain

Any site to follow the results?  The official HSBC Svns site has had a catastrophic redesign, seems to have been designed for the visually impaired on acid and defaults to the women's results every time you select a stage of the competition.  Can't find it on Wiki either.

Yeah it’s not great galted.

Suppose it will have to do though.

Unless your on twitter, instagram.

Cape Town round is on this weekend, and it's brought more worrying news for GB. One of the other teams competing for the last Olympic spot will be Canada, who have looked well off their best for some seasons.

Today, Canada beat NZ 7-19, their first win over the Kiwis in 7 years, and just beat Samoa 7-33. That's two very big scalps.

GB had a match against the Blitzbokke, who will also be in the repecharge, and lost 19-5. We go against Ireland and USA in the remaining two pool matches.