Americas 7 head for Hong Kong

The HSBC Sevens Series reaches its zenith this weekend as the teams pile in for the most iconic seven-a-side tournament in the world in Hong Kong. Seven is the magic number in more ways than one, with seven teams from the Americas taking part across the two brackets.

The main draw of course is part of the regular world circuit, but there is more at stake for the second tier of teams. A dozen teams will take part in an all-or-nothing contest with the winner earning a coveted spot as one of the core teams on the 2016-17 HSBC Sevens Circuit.

All matches will be streamed live by World Rugby.

 

MAIN DRAW

All the big names are present, with the 16th slot going to South Korea as Japan will contest the core qualifiers. Most sides have put their best foot forward, calling up big names to bolster their usual lineup. Sonny Bill Williams, Nick Cummins, and Virimi Vakatawa are among the world stars set to showcase their skills as they look to secure their ticket to Rio in August.

As usual the Americas are represented by Argentina, Canada, and the USA, and it will be a challenge for all three to advance to the Cup final rounds on day two. The Eagles are paired with the Pumas in Pool C, meaning they will both have to dispatch of Australia and Portugal to advance. Canada meanwhile have an easier route, with a win over Wales their only obstacle to the top eight.

POOL A	POOL B	POOL C	POOL D
New Zealand	South Africa	Australia	Fiji
Samoa	Scotland	USA	Wales
France	England	Argentina	Canada
Kenya	Russia	Portugal	South Korea

 

ARGENTINA

Los Pumas has made three changes to the team that bowed out in the Bowl semi finals in Vancouver. Nicolás Menendez, Germán Schulz, and Ramiro Moyano are out. Sebastián Cancelliere is recalled, and Americas Rugby Championship standout Juan Pablo Estélles is selected to make his HSBC Series debut. Jaguares flanker Javier Ortega Desio also joins for his first sevens appearance since 2012.

Santiago Gomez Cora’s side has shown mixed form this year but remain in 6th place on the overall standings. Vancouver marked the low point, a considerable drop from the Cup final appearance in Cape Town. The new players are of high calibre but will their relative lack of recent sevens experience hamper their performance?

SQUAD
Nicolás Bruzzone, Sebastián Cancelliere, Bautista Delguy, Juan Pablo Estellés, Rodrigo Etchart, Bautista Ezcurra, Ramiro Finco, Fernando Luna, Axel Müller, Javier Ortega Desio, Gastón Revol (capt.), Segundo Tuculet

POOL FIXTURES
Fri, Apr 8 – 08:28 EST – vs Australia
Sat, Apr 9 – 00:48 EST – vs USA
Sat, Apr 9 – 04:48 EST – vs Portugal

 

CANADA

The Canadians won an emotional victory at home in Vancouver and for the most part played well, but still dropped just below Wales into 13th on the Series table. Veteran leaders Phil Mack and Sean Duke are out with injury, replaced by youngsters Phil Berna and Justin Douglas. Adam Zaruba is also a late addition to the squad having been left out of the original group named earlier in the week.

EDIT: World Rugby incorrectly listed Zaruba in the team but his spot is in fact taken by Matt Mullins.

There’s no question this team is under pressure, having failed to make the top eight in a single event this season. With only four stops remaining and the final Olympic spot up for grabs in June, there is a sense that the Asian leg must be the start of a turnaround if the team is to make it to Rio. In the weakest pool of the main draw, Canada must avenge their heartbreaking loss to Wales in Vancouver to make it through to the Cup draw.

SQUAD
Phil Berna, Admir Cejvanovic, Justin Douglas, Mike Fuailefau, Lucas Hammond, Nathan Hirayama, Harry Jones, Pat Kay, John Moonlight (capt.), Matt Mullins, Conor Trainor, Sean White

POOL FIXTURES
Fri, Apr 8 – 08:06 EST – vs Fiji
Sat, Apr 9 – 00:02 EST – vs Wales
Sat, Apr 9 – 04:02 EST – vs South Korea

 

USA

Coming in atop the Americas rankings are the Eagles, currently 5th overall but unable to crack into the Cup final thus far in the 2015-16 season. While their team performance has been consistent from event to event, there are still some game-to-game issues that need to be resolved. Finding that level of performance from the start will be the key to success in Hong Kong in a challenging but winnable pool.

With that in mind Mike Friday has freshened up his squad, making four changes. Outgoing are Ben Leatigaga, Thretton Palamo, Pat Blair, and Seth Halliman. Series stars Zack Test and Maka Unufe return, as does mazy runner Peter Tiberio, who makes his first appearance since the Gold Coast in October 2014. The fourth addition will attract some eyeballs as NFL player Nate Ebner steps in for Carlin Isles. This will be the first step towards possible Olympic inclusion for the New England Patriots representative.

SQUAD
Nate Augspurger, Perry Baker, Danny Barrett, Garrett Bender, Nate Ebner, Madison Hughes (capt.), Martin Iosefo, Folau Niua, Ben Pinkelman, Zack Test, Peter Tiberio, Maka Unufe

POOL FIXTURES
Fri, Apr 8 – 06:54 EST – vs Portugal
Sat, Apr 9 – 00:48 EST – vs Argentina
Sat, Apr 9 – 05:10 EST – vs Australia

 

CORE QUALIFIERS

Four more Americas countries will attempt to qualify for core status against eight other teams from around the world. Brazil should put up the most significant challenge though Chile is certainly capable of making a splash. Mexico and newcomers Cayman Islands are both among the bottom tier of the competitors, but have an opportunity to display their progress on a scale neither will be accustomed to.

The clear favorites in this draw are Japan, who lost their core spot a year ago to Russia. Outside of the Americas they will face stern challenges from Zimbabwe, Spain, and hosts Hong Kong. The latter are sleepers but always difficult on home turf. Tonga come in as unknowns having sent an unusually inexperienced team with none of their recognizable names present.

POOL E	POOL F	POOL G
Zimbabwe	Spain	Japan
Hong Kong	Chile	Tonga
Germany	Papua New Guinea	Brazil
Cayman Islands	Mexico	Morocco

 

BRAZIL

Os Tupis took part in the full tournament in Vancouver and finished in last spot but gave the appreciative crowd plenty to cheer about. Despite their lack of involvement on the season overall they could be considered a darkhorse to win the qualifiers, though to succeed they will have to do so without two of their best players, the brothers Duque, Lucas and Moisés.

England-based captain Juliano Fiori will lead the charge up front alongside the Sancery twins, Daniel and Felipe, while the likes of Laurent Bourda-Couhet and Stefano Giantorno will have to lift their games in the absence of their esteemed playmakers. David Harvey will knock the conversions over if they can find the tries, but they will be in tough against Tonga and Japan before they even reach the knock-out stages.

SQUAD
Laurent Bourda-Couhet, Mateus Estrela, Juliano Fiori (capt.), Stefano Giantorno, David Harvey, Lucas Muller, Daniel Sancery, Felipe Sancery, Martin Schaefer, Andre Silva, Felipe Silva, Matheus Silva

POOL FIXTURES
Fri, Apr 8 – 01:00 EST – vs Japan
Fri, Apr 8 – 03:34 EST – vs Tonga
Fri, Apr 8 – 21:00 EST – vs Morocco

 

CAYMAN ISLANDS

The newest members of the sevens fraternity, the Caymans make their first ever appearance at Hong Kong, becoming the 58th country to take part. Led by former Canada u19 coach Grizz Adams they will be keen to make a good impression with the likes of hirsute captain Mark Soto and dangerous runner Joel Clark key to their chances.

With a population of around 60,000, the Caymanians will be massive underdogs against comparatively gargantuan Germany and even hosts Hong Kong, but taking part in the tournament in itself should be considered an achievement. That said, don’t write them off – they finished the 2015 NACRA pool stages with a 3-1 record, losing only to Canada. Can they pull off an upset in Hong Kong?

SQUAD
Josh Brown, Chris Bunce, Joel Clark, Robbie Cribb, Iain Currie, Alex Harvey, Jon Murphy, Cueme Parker, Mark Soto (capt.), Paul Westin, Shane Westin, Justin Wight

POOL FIXTURES
Fri, Apr 8 – 02:50 EST – vs Hong Kong
Fri, Apr 8 – 04:40 EST – vs Zimbabwe
Fri, Apr 8 – 21:44 EST – vs Germany

 

CHILE

Unlike Brazil, Chile have not leaned heavily on their ARC squad for their sevens entry. In fact none of the senior Cóndores side is present, though one could certainly argue that loose forward Anton Petrowitch and flyhalf Francisco González Moller in particular were conspicuous absentees. Both will be instrumental if Chile are to knock off chief rivals Spain in Pool F.

Choosing a specialist sevens side may work to Chile’s advantage. They finished ahead of Brazil, winning the 2015 Mar del Plata tournament to qualify for the Pan Am Games in Toronto. There they struggled in the pool stages, losing to Uruguay and defeating only Mexico, though they did come within seconds of upsetting Canada in the quarter final, eventually losing in extra time. If they can find the same confidence in Hong Kong, they could be a surprise package.

SQUAD
Julio Blanc, Felipe Brangier (capt.), Francisco González Moller, Nicolás Herreros, Juan Pablo Larenas, Francisco Metuaze, Felipe Neira, Francisco Neira, Anton Petrowitsch, Francisco Urroz, Claudio Velásquez, Pedro Verschae

POOL FIXTURES
Fri, Apr 8 – 02:06 EST – vs Mexico
Fri, Apr 8 – 04:18 EST – vs Papua New Guinea
Fri, Apr 8 – 22:28 EST – vs Spain

 

MEXICO

The Serpientes did not fare well in Toronto last year, failing to win a game including a loss to lowly Guyana in the 8th place decider. Their performance at NACRA however was much better, with wins over Jamaica and Barbados before defeating the Caymans in a close battle to finish in third place.

This will be Mexico’s fourth trip to Hong Kong. They have not won a game at the tournament and have scored only eight tries in that time. Yet there is a feeling that this team can achieve greater things. They have tall timber in Erik Castillo, Fharid Samano, and Roberto Calderon, and a strong character in captain Ari Gold. We find out this weekend whether they can find a new gear on the toughest of world stages.

SQUAD
Luis Arredondo, Roberto Calderon, Erik Castillo, Alejandro Chavez, Arinho Gold (capt.), Christian Henning, Luis Herrejon, Pascal Nadaud, Gonzalo Pons, Diego Ramirez, Andres Rodriguez, Fharid Samano

FIXTURES
Fri, Apr 8 – 02:06 EST – vs Chile
Fri, Apr 8 – 03:56 EST – vs Spain
Fri, Apr 8 – 21:22 EST – vs Papua New Guinea