Sydney 7s | Four things we learned

All pictures: World Rugby

The first World Sevens Series tournament of the year 2018 is done and dusted and it was a very golden affair, with the Australian women's and men's team winning big at home. It was a memorable weekend, with plenty of talking points - Here are four of them. 

The Australian Women’s team is unstoppable

If there were any doubts about the quality of the Australian Women’s team, after a disappointing season 2016/2017, they should be all gone since their phenomenal and record-breaking performance in Sydney last weekend. 

Six games, six wins, and 35 tries without conceding a single point sums up how strong the team is, a record which no other team has ever achieved before. Even their closest rivals New Zealand couldn’t score a try when the two met in the final last Sunday. 

Head coach Tim Walsh together and his backroom staff have developed an exceptionally strong squad which are the hot favourites to win the series, after only two tournaments played. Top performers such as Charlotte Caslick, Emma Tonegato and the second highest scorer in the series Emma Sykes are forming this brilliant group.

It will be interesting to witness the development of this team especially after the departure of coach Walsh towards the end of the season. If he manages to pass the team over in the current state, his successor will enjoy the role. 

South Africa is more vulnerable this season

Yes, the Blitzbokke are still going strong and are topping the table. But there are indications that Neil Powell’s team might not dominate the series in the same fashion as last year. Even though they made it to the final last Sunday and won the title in Dubai, the Australians, demonstrated that South Africa are vulnerable and with a solid defense and ruthless attacking strategy beatable.

Losing the final 29-0 must be a disappointing experience for this fine Boks’ squad and a motivation for the teams sitting behind South Africa in the table. Especially New Zealand, only four points behind South Africa are closing in. They only finished 5th in Sydney, but next weekend the All Blacks Sevens team is coming home, and the Hamilton leg offers a golden opportunity to claim the top spot in the table.

The Australian men’s team, currently third in the table, played a phenomenal pre-season and with the win in Sydney, they should be boosted with confidence. The Australians have some exceptional talents such as speedster Maurice Longbottom and Ben O’ Donnell who already scored 15 tries this season. Mixed with the more experienced players such as James Stannard and captain Lewis Holland the Golden boys are a real force.  

The Sydney Sevens date needs a rethink

This was a big talking point in the Australian media following an eventful weekend which included the Australia day, the Australian Open finals and the final one-day test between England and the Aussies. 

The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper analysed that the tournament has caused Australia Rugby a whopping $700k damage, as it attracted 54,875 people across the weekend, down more than 20 percent on last year's crowd of 75,000. At an average cost of $35 a ticket, that means a $700,000 shortfall in gate revenue for Rugby Australia.  

The reason for the drop-in ticket sale was down to a rare change in dates, as the organisers requested to run the first-ever fully integrated men’s and women’s tournament. In theory a great idea and the right step, however, it must go hand in hand with the many other attractive events of such a weekend.

The Avo-Man won the show

https://www.instagram.com/p/BecwFHGhouH/?hl=en&taken-at=1027301059

It’s no secret that 7s events are always a melting pot for the party animals and fancy-dress lovers. But there has been hardly an occasion where one costume attracted such a huge viral wave. Nearly every social media channel (we couldn’t resist either) posted a pic of this wonderfully simple and funny costume of the so-called “Avo-Man”.

It’s fair to say, he nailed it!

Highlights | Day 3 | Sydney 7s

Australia beat South Africa 29-0 in the Cup final to take the HSBC Sydney Sevens title.

The victory secured a clean sweep for the host nation after Australia’s women beat New Zealand in their Cup final earlier on in the day.

It marked the men’s first Cup win since Japan in 2012 and Andy Friend’s side put on a clinical display on day three in front of an enraptured home crowd at the Allianz Stadium. 

A brace from Ben O’Donnell combined with scores from Lewis Holland, James Stannard and John Porch. 

Lachlan Anderson, an emerging talent within the team, was voted HSBC Player of the Final and was naturally delighted with the result after the full-time whistle. 

“It is still hard to take it in and it is pretty special, but we have been talking about this for a long time," he said.  “We started the work last July and drew a line in the sand as we hadn’t won for a while. We put the pieces in place and it is great that we got the reward this weekend

South Africa now lead the overall HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2018 standings and Australia move up to third with seven stops remaining. The teams move swiftly on and will reconvene in Hamilton on 3-4 February. 

Argentina was knocked out in the Cup semi-final by the eventual winners yet finished strongly in third after beating the USA 31-10 in the Bronze Final. 

France won the Challenge Trophy Final. After a victory over Spain and Russia, they beat Wales 29-12 in their final.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lCGUbegjSU

WOMEN'S

Australia beat New Zealand 31-0 in the Cup final to take the HSBC Sydney Sevens title on home soil.

Tim Walsh’s side went through the tournament without conceding a try, a first in the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, and produced a clinical display in the Trans-Tasman Cup Final.

A try from HSBC Player of the Final Charlotte Caslick combined with scores from Shannon Parry, Ellia Green, Evania Pelite and Emma Sykes to secure a memorable victory on home soil.

After the full-time whistle the World Rugby Women's Sevens Player of the Year 2016, Caslick, was naturally delighted with the winner's performance over the course of the three days. 

“It was a fantastic way to finish the tournament here in Sydney in front of our home crowd especially as New Zealand are so tough to beat," she said. "Our coach Tim Walsh wanted a better defensive effort in this tournament as it was not up to par last year, so we have worked really hard on it and we finished without conceding a try which is awesome.”

In the Bronze Final Canada also delivered a clinical showing to take a 40-12 victory over Russia. France secured fifth position, Ireland finished in seventh and on day two England won the Challenge Trophy Final. 

After back-to-back tournament wins in Dubai and Sydney Australia are now ten points clear of New Zealand, Canada and Russia in the overall HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2018 standings. There are three stops remaining and the teams will regroup next in Kitakyushu on 21-22 April. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQPpiZStYjg

Quick Links

Sydney Sevens | Men's | Results Day 3

Sydney Sevens | Women's | Results Day 3

Highlights | Day 2 | Sydney 7s

Reigning series champions South Africa were one of four teams to achieve a perfect win record on day two in Sydney.

They join Argentina, Fiji and Australia as the unbeaten sides heading into the last eight after a second day of top quality rugby in the Australian sunshine. South Africa are currently on track to defend their title in Sydney and will face Kenya in the Cup quarter-finals. Fiji will face the USA while Argentina play England. New Zealand, tournament winners in Cape Town, will face off against their local rivals Australia.

Rosko Specman scored five tries in the pool stages and was pleased with his side's start to the tournament. “It's a good start for us, as in Cape Town we started too slowly and did not make the final," he said. "Here in Sydney we are focused on the basics because we know we can punish teams if we play to our game plan.”

The Challenge Trophy quarter-finals will be Samoa v Canada, Papua New Guinea v Wales, Scotland v Russia and France v Spain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TYwjJmbveU

Quick Links

Sydney Sevens | Results Day 2

Sydney Sevens | Fixtures Day 3

Highlights | Day 1 | Sydney 7s

The Australian women’s team kicked-off their home tournament with a clean-sweep of victories, to set up a quarter-final with Spain after the first day of the Sydney 7s. 

New Zealand's three wins sets up a meeting with Ireland while Canada will play France.

USA and Russia complete the last eight.

The Challenge Trophy semi-finals are England v Papua New Guinea and Japan v Fiji.

With the Rugby World Cup Sevens just over six months away in San Francisco teams will not only be battling it out for the HSBC Sydney Sevens title but also crucial Rugby World Cup Sevens seedings points that will determine the draw for the tournament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDzq_P3LsBU

MEN'S 

As the sun set in Sydney eight men's matches started the third leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series with the Blitzboks, New Zealand and Australia impressing. 

In Pool C defending series champions racked up a half-century of points against Papua New Guinea. New Zealand were in a clinical mood against Russia and ran in nine tries in Pool A whilst Fiji prevailed over Samoa. 

The other Pool C clash saw England start their campaign with a 22-10 victory and both France and Argentina opened their accounts with victories in Pool B.

Australia and the USA were involved in the toughest tussle of day one with the hosts prevailing 26-19 thanks to Tim Anstee's length-of-the-field try and Scotland finished the day on a high note with a 52-2 victory over Canada.

Quick Links

Sydney Sevens | Results Day 1

Sydney Sevens | Fixtures Day 2

Preview | Sydney Sevens 2018

The World Sevens Series returns this weekend with the first stop of a massively exciting year for the game, which includes the Commonwealth Games as well as the 7s World Cup in San Fransisco. With temperatures around 30 degrees, the teams will be challenged to compete in hot and humid conditions at the Sydney 7s. For the first time ever, the women’s competition will run alongside the men’s one, on all three days.

WHERE AND WHEN?

The Sydney Sevens takes place at the Allianz Stadium (Capacity 45,500) on Friday 26th, Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th of January. 

The matches kick-off Friday at 18:00 local time (07:00 UK time), Saturday 14:41 local time (03:41 UK time) and Sunday at 10:00 local time (23:00 UK time). 

For a full fixture list click here.

WHERE CAN I SEE IT?

In the UK Sky Sports will cover the tournament on all days. For a full TV guide click here, for any other country check out this handy guide.

WHO’S THE FAVOURITE?

The current champions South Africa started the new series in a commonly successful style with a win at the first stop in Dubai, last year. However, a week later the Blitzbokke only finished third at their home tournament in Cape Town. 

New Zealand, a team which performed below their high standards last year, seem to be in a lot stronger form this season. Coach Clark Laidlaw, the successor of the magnificent Gordon Tietjens, guided the men in black, back onto winning paths and an impressive tournament win in South Africa.    

Olympic Champions Fiji in the third position showed a solid performance at the first two tournaments and will among the bookies favourite for a top three finish this weekend. 

Hosts Australia has been in outstanding form prior to the start of the series but only made it to the Challenge Trophy final in South Africa. In addition, coach Andy Friend has to plan without his long-serving and inspirational captain Ed Jenkins, who was forced to retire from the game last week. However, a sea of Aussie supporters should back the team with plenty of confidence and the prospect of a potentially successful women’s and men’s team in Gold and Green on the podium on Sunday night must be a huge motivation.     

ONE TO WATCH

New Zealand’s Joe Ravouvou is in outstanding form. The 104kg winger was suspended for three games, following a high tackle in the final of the Dubai Sevens. However, he bounced back impressively with an HSBC Player of the Final performance in Cape Town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ-ISUf7zUg&list=PL86D02C361033C84B&index=2

The 26-year-old is a daunting player to face on the sevens circuit. A huge presence and buckets of pace, he can finish from almost anywhere on the pitch.

Quick Links

Sydney Sevens | Fixture List Men's

Sydney Sevens | Fixture List Women's

HSBC World Sevens Series | Standings Men's

HSBC World Sevens Series | Standings Women's