The captains from the men’s and women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series teams participating in the HSBC Sydney Sevens today attended the launch of the tournament adjacent to the iconic harbour. And those teams that have qualified also assisted with the promotion of the upcoming Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in July in San Francisco.
The HSBC Sydney Sevens represents the third round 10 for the men’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series while for the women it is the second round of their five tournament series. In an exciting move it will be the first time the women’s event will be fully combined with the men’s tournament with all matches over the three days, including last day finals, being played at Allianz Stadium.
Australian beat USA in the final of the first HSBC World Rugby Sevens Women’s Series tournament in Dubai last December and will be keen to perform well in front of their home crowd. Indeed the first day coincides with Australia Day and a national holiday.
Defending Rugby World Cup Sevens champions New Zealand will be looking for an improved performance after finishing fifth in the series opener in Dubai.
Click HERE for full Sydney Sevens match schedule and news
Click HERE for full Women’s Sydney Sevens match schedule and news
Australian women’s captain Sharni Williams said: “We had a great start to the series in Dubai but then we headed into the holiday break. Now we are back on deck and we have to ensure we do the small things right to ensure more success. While it is good mentally to switch off when you can, such as Christmas, we now have to apply ourselves and we have worked on our conditioning and skills for Sydney.
“It is going to be wonderful to run out in front of our home fans on Australia Day but that said despite all the support and flags that will be on display it is just another tournament. That is where we must mentally we need to get it right.”
Meanwhile with incumbent men's series champions South Africa winning Dubai and New Zealand winning Cape Town there is all to play for in the Sydney Sevens. The Blitzboks won the Sydney Sevens last year, beating England in the final, and the South Africans are keen to defend their trophy and close the gap on New Zealand in the current series standings.
Fiji will be another team to seek better form and series points after a disappointing semi-final loss in Dubai and a fifth place finish in Cape Town. Always crowd favourites in Sydney they will get plenty of support as they seek to win their first tournament since Hong Kong in 2017.
For both the men and women there are also Rugby World Cup Sevens seedings points up for grabs. Seedings points will be earned in tournaments leading up to RWC Sevens in San Francisco in July and will crucially determine the draw for both tournaments.
Click HERE for full Rugby World Cup Sevens qualification and seedings information.