The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series resumes in Wellington this weekend. The Men’s Sevens is set to have challenging matches against Samoa, Kenya and Tonga in Pool D.
Australia currently sit in 6th position in the overall standings. South Africa sit in 1st position closely followed by New Zealand by just one point.
After a strong start at the Gold Coast Sevens the Men’s team has struggled to perform in Dubai, South Africa and the USA. The return of Captain Ed Jenkins from injury should galvanise the side as they look to climb up in the overall standings. Jenkins expressed his frustration with his injury.
“I was disappointed I couldn’t play in Las Vegas, but I was extremely impressed with the boy’s attitude, particularly in the Fiji game when we came back from the dead. The team seems to be shaping up nicely for the second half of the season.
“I believe we have a realistic chance in Wellington to make a real statement and get into that top four. The boys are relishing the opportunity to play in front of a packed out New Zealand crowd that absolutely love their Rugby Sevens”
Jenkins also spoke of Cam Clark’s strong performance in Las Vegas.
“Cam being named in the tournament’s ‘Dream Team’ was a deserved accolade. He was fantastic.”
Coach Michael O’Connor commended the efforts of his side in Las Vegas and was optimistic about his team’s chances in Wellington.
“The team has come together well this year and it continues to evolve. It gave me great satisfaction to see the boys emerge from the ‘pool of death’ in Las Vegas after being drawn with the number one and three ranked teams in the world, New Zealand and Fiji.”
“We have a side that has genuine potential at the moment and our combinations are really starting to bear fruit. Having Captain Ed Jenkins back to bolster the team leading into Wellington is a bonus as well”
The next Sevens World Series tournament for the Qantas Men’s Sevens team will take place in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday 22 – Saturday 23 of March.
Results of the 2013-2014 Sevens World Series
Rd 1 – Australia: 2nd
Rd 2 – Dubai: Bowl winners 9th
Rd 3 – South Africa: Bowl runners-up 10th
Rd 4 – USA: Plate runners-up 6th
Aussie Mens Sevens Squad
Ed Jenkins (C)
Con Foley
Jesse Parahi
Sam Myers
Allan Fa’alava’au
Peter Schuster
Greg Jeloudev
Cameron Clark
Shannon Walker
Nick Malouf
Tom Lucas
Paul Asquith
