HSBC 7's: ROUND 5 - LAS VEGAS

[Omar Comin']

Some real selection headaches shaping up for Rio. Another issue is what we do with Pama Fou, who is one of our best players but unlikely to play any World Series events this year.

I think if he's fully fit and firing in the training camps before the Olympics then he has to be in the squad.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Well that's odd, site I was on earlier had Fiji 2nd in their pool but now I'm on the official site (which is, btw, not very user-friendly since they gave it a facelift: I mean, how hard is it to put the results & fixtures, or at least a one-click link to them, on the front fuckin' page?) I see they won it, so:

QF1 Kenya v USA
QF2 Fiji v Japan
QF3 SA v NZ
QF4 Australia v Argentina

Bowl QF1 Russia v Canada
QF2 France v England
QF3 Wales v Portugal
QF4 Scotland v Samoa

 

[barbarian]

So if you break it down:

Locked in: Clark, Holland, Jenkins
Highly likely: Stannard, Hutchison, Cusack, Fou, Fa'al'a'ava'u'

Which leaves these blokes competing for four spots: Jeloudev, Myers, Killingworth, Cooper, Speight, Kingston, Cutch, Lucas, Foley (whose injury looks bad).

Reckon the bloke who looks least likely out of that is Speight, who was the one who I thought would dominate.
.

 

[Omar Comin']

I reckon Quade will be there. He was very good against England and he's only going to improve when he gets proper sevens preparation and conditioning. His long passing game is a big weapon to have.

How on earth did NZ lose to Kenya 22-0!?

 

[wamberal]

No one throws a pass like Quade. loved watching him bury england

I have been watching rugby for many years, Cooper does things that I have never seen anybody else do.


Some of them come off. When they do, a try is virtually inevitable in Sevens.


When they don't, the team has to be able to regroup very quickly, because an opposition try might be the price we pay for his erratic genius.


Worth the gamble, for sure.

 

[I like to watch]

So if you break it down:

Locked in: Clark, Holland, Jenkins
Highly likely: Stannard, Hutchison, Cusack, Fou, Fa'al'a'ava'u'

Which leaves these blokes competing for four spots: Jeloudev, Myers, Killingworth, Cooper, Speight, Kingston, Cutch, Lucas, Foley (whose injury looks bad).

Reckon the bloke who looks least likely out of that is Speight, who was the one who I thought would dominate.
.

Is Fou highly likely?
When is he due back?
I'd be putting Killingworth & QC (Quade Cooper) in the highly likely,so there's plenty of options for last two spots.
I think Speight will be sacrificed for team harmony...

 

[RebelYell]

So if you break it down:

Locked in: Clark, Holland, Jenkins
Highly likely: Stannard, Hutchison, Cusack, Fou, Fa'al'a'ava'u'

Which leaves these blokes competing for four spots: Jeloudev, Myers, Killingworth, Cooper, Speight, Kingston, Cutch, Lucas, Foley (whose injury looks bad).

Reckon the bloke who looks least likely out of that is Speight, who was the one who I thought would dominate.
.

Add Tom Cusack and Nick Cummins to the list as well. Tom's broken his wrist but is expected to be ok for Rio. Sam Figg, John Porch, Stephan van der Walt and Simon Kennewell are also contracted, but probably a little unlikely - long term prospects.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Scotland 17-12 Samoa
France 21-19 England who are down to nine fit players.
Wales 31-12 Portugal
Russia 19-10 Canada, big boil over there.

Cup QF underway.

 

[Highlander35]

Can't wait for the Olympics to be over. Love me some Adamson, can't wait to see what he can do in 15s.

 

[Braveheart81]

Fa'alava'au has really improved his strength in contact. Playing well.

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[the sabanator]

With a bit more time Quade can be really, really good at this. His footwork makes him a threat to beat the line every time and his passing game puts the right players in the right gaps.

 

[Teh Other Dave]

Love Quade's beautiful flat passing and the fact he puts defenders in two minds, especially in sevens. He seems to miss a little with regards to his support play - too shallow and wide - and obviously his pushed passes.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

So that's what happens when you sacrifice speed out wide for size up the middle & come up against an outfit that's done pretty much the opposite: you lose your QF & go from back-to-back Leg winners to Plate semi-finalists.............

Still, could be worse, we could be in the Shield like England

Cup SF1: USA v Fiji
SF2: Straya v SA

Plate SF1: Kenya v Japan
SF2: NZ v Argentina

Bowl SF1: Russia v France
SF2: Wales v Scotland

Shield SF1: Canada v England
SF2: Portugal v Samoa

 

[fo!!ower]

Add Tom Cusack and Nick Cummins to the list as well. Tom's broken his wrist but is expected to be ok for Rio. Sam Figg, John Porch, Stephan van der Walt and Simon Kennewell are also contracted, but probably a little unlikely - long term prospects.

What's happening with the Badger anyway?? There hasn't been any sevens related news about him at all since the ARU released that photo of him wearing the Aussie Sevens jersey a few months ago.

Last post I saw from him on Instagram was him holidaying in Norway!?!

 

[Braveheart81]

I saw him at the Sydney 7s

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[waiopehu oldboy]

Shield SF:
Canada 24-7 England with only nine fit players.
Samoa 29-14 Portugal

Bowl SF:
France 15-14 Russia
Wales 21-14 Scotland

Plate SF in progress.

 

[Braveheart81]

Wow!

What a topsy turvy game. Aussies very lucky to get through, but that last one had to be a penalty try. The only way Jenkins wasn't scoring was if Speckman tried to remove his head.

 

[TKO]

When do the 7s come back to Aust to play ? I never thought I would really enjoy watching, now like so many .. Love it !

 

[Braveheart81]

When do the 7s come back to Aust to play ? I never thought I would really enjoy watching, now like so many .. Love it !

Sydney 7s will be on again presumably at the start of February 2017.

 

[fo!!ower]

How good was that Aussie v SA semi?!? That's what I live about Sevens, it's not over til it's over! Sometimes it hurts (losing the final to NZ in Sydney at the death), sometimes it's glorious!

I reckon Quade has acquitted himself well, his one-on-one defence has been better than expected, but still needs a bit of work. His cleaning out and ruck work is much better than I expected though. He's also reading the game well and his passing is crisp and fast, as you'd expect.

He's only going to get better and better with every game he plays so hopefully the ARU are working on getting him released for a few more rounds before the Olympics. I know he's pencilled in for Paris and London but I'd love to see him play in Vancouver as well, I reckon two weeks back to back would accelerate his development nicely.

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