Tokyo Olympic Sevens

The pools for the mens competition were announced today. Twelve teams get whittled down to eight, so the top two teams from each pool will progress, along with the best two third placed teams. The last Olympics didn't go at all to form but I'd expect NZ, Australia and Argentina to progress, since they should all handily beat Korea. After that, Fiji is almost a certainly to qualify but no-one else can be sure.

In Pool B, on form, GB should beat Canada and Japan, to qualify at least in second. A victory over Fiji isn't out of the question but they are favourites to top the group. However, Japan beat NZ in Rio, and Canada can beat top sides too, so both could cause an upset, and put us in third place, or even out. If third, then it would be a lottery if we happened to be better than the third placed finisher in Pool C. USA were in the same boat in Rio, and it cost them a place in the quarter finals.

In Pool C, while Ireland are the fourth seed, they are probably better than Kenya, and have a realistic chance to get to the quarter finals.

Pool A
New Zealand
Australia
Argentina
Korea

Pool B
Fiji
Great Britain
Canada
Japan

Pool C
South Africa
USA
Kenya
Ireland

The US havent looked great lately, Ireland dispached them fairly easily at the 7s tournament in England, though the Olympics is obviously a different beast. Think Ireland got a draw with SA in their last game too but they will probably still have to be at their best to get out of the group.

The tournament schedule is out:

GB vs Canada is the second match on Day 1, after Japan vs Fiji. GB then faces Japan at 4:30 the same day

Ireland is scheduled to play South Africa in the fifth match on Day 1, with a follow-up early evening against USA.

Day 2 sees the pool matches finish in the morning: GB faces Fiji, and Ireland have Kenya.

The rest of Day 2 is play-off qualifiers, and quarter finals. Day 3 is made up of table play-offs and the final medal rounds.

https://resources.world.rugby/worldrugby/document/2021/07/07/b08b327b-15e8-4f20-896d-d5ba57ed9de9/2020_Tokyo_Schedule_210707.pdf

You might remember Quade Cooper looked to get into the Australia sevens side for Rio but wasn't eligible, as he wasn't an Australian citizen, despite living in Australia since he was 13. At the time, it was seen as just a piece of personal administration he just hadn't got around to in time.

As it turns out, his recent application for citzenship has been turned down.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-57804651

He has tweeted the letter

Awkward moment @ausgov refuse your citizenship applications (again) Wearing the green and gold 70 times apparently is not enough these days.

.

https://twitter.com/QuadeCooper/status/1414779860300357632

Rugby Heaven has a short profile of all the teams.

https://www.rugbyworld.com/news/olympics-rugby-mens-team-guide-129085

All eyes will be on COVID-19 tests. Already, Neil Powell, the South African coach, has tested positive. He is in isolation, so the only coaching he'll be doing is over Zoom.

Rugby Fan wrote:You might remember Quade Cooper looked to get into the Australia sevens side for Rio but wasn't eligible, as he wasn't an Australian citizen, despite living in Australia since he was 13. At the time, it was seen as just a piece of personal administration he just hadn't got around to in time.

As it turns out, his recent application for citzenship has been turned down.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-57804651

He has tweeted the letter

Awkward moment @ausgov refuse your citizenship applications (again) Wearing the green and gold 70 times apparently is not enough these days.

.

https://twitter.com/QuadeCooper/status/1414779860300357632

I haven't read into it on what the actual error was, or why it was denied this time around, but you would think it would be a little easier for someone when they've represented the country at the highest level. Cooper marvelled the world for a time, whilst wearing the green and gold. Aus should probably be begging him to accept citizenship, not the other way around.

If you have time for a podcast, the 7th Heaven team have a preview of the Olympic Sevens.

https://www.7thheavenpod.com/podcast/episode/6df140b5/konichiwa-from-tokyo

It's on Youtube, Spotify, and the usual podcast providers.

They mention one point I didn't know: originally each squad was 12 men, with a travelling reserve, who could be used to replace an injured player. Now however, all 13 players can be used, so the squad size has effectively been increased.

Rob Vickerman highlights the biggest concern for Team GB: the squad is essentially all backs. We can run other teams off their feet, which is a valuable gameplan to have. We don't, however, have many answers for a team which decides to muscle up, and a number of the top teams can do just that.

In Rio, James Rodwell (195cm/106kg) was a rock at kick-offs. The nearest Team GB has to him is Harry Glover (192cm/97kg), so there's a lot of pressure on him to get possession, as Roques decided not to select Richard de Carpentier (194cm/105kg), who has been Rodwell's natural replacement in the England team.

Collapse2005 wrote:The US havent looked great lately, Ireland dispached them fairly easily at the 7s tournament in England, though the Olympics is obviously a different beast. Think Ireland got a draw with SA in their last game too but they will probably still have to be at their best to get out of the group.

Certainly have our work cut out.
May need to pull a rabbit out the hat to advance.

mikey_dragon wrote:

Rugby Fan wrote:You might remember Quade Cooper looked to get into the Australia sevens side for Rio but wasn't eligible, as he wasn't an Australian citizen, despite living in Australia since he was 13. At the time, it was seen as just a piece of personal administration he just hadn't got around to in time.

As it turns out, his recent application for citzenship has been turned down.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-57804651

He has tweeted the letter

Awkward moment @ausgov refuse your citizenship applications (again) Wearing the green and gold 70 times apparently is not enough these days.

.

https://twitter.com/QuadeCooper/status/1414779860300357632

I haven't read into it on what the actual error was, or why it was denied this time around, but you would think it would be a little easier for someone when they've represented the country at the highest level. Cooper marvelled the world for a time, whilst wearing the green and gold. Aus should probably be begging him to accept citizenship, not the other way around.

Apparently the problem is that he hasn't actually been resident in the country for enough months of the year lately (due -
reasonably enough I'd have thought - to his overseas rugby commitments) so falls foul of the technical requirements.  Seems to me something in which a bit of ministerial discretion could fairly be exercised. Thought there were enough Rugby fans in the current Conservative Government to assure this would happen !

Incidentally, there's a tropical storn heading towards Tokyo. Too early to tell what intensity it will build up. It is expected to arrive early next week, which is when the Sevens competition is scheduled. The venue for the event has no roof, so there'll be delay in the event of any extreme weather.

https://www.jma.go.jp/bosai/map.html#4/31.317/128.453/&elem=root&typhoon=all&contents=typhoon&lang=en

Ben Ryan previews the competition:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/24/wide-open-fields-make-tokyo-olympics-rugby-sevens-a-must-watch

He agrees with Rob Vickerman about the risk Team GB are running in selection.

The men have taken a risky route though, not selecting a genuine forward in their squad of English and Scottish players, so their success will also be largely determined by the performance of the 25-year-old centre Harry Glover. Post-Tokyo, he will be playing for Stade Français. I think it’s fair to compare him with the style of play of Sonny Bill Williams. He offloads just like the great man and he is not too far away physically. I think he is good enough to flourish for England at XVs and is one to watch and admire.

Early days but saw GB vs Canada (24-0) and just seen the result vs a Japanese side that ran Fiji close (34-0) So far looking good.

No idea how indicative it was but vs Canada GB were very hot on turn overs

Big half now for Ireland, trailing USA 12-5 at half-time. They picked up a try just before the whistle, which should give them confidence.

2 point loss in the end, looks like the dream could be over already. Clinch mach v Kenya.

Ireland went down 19-17. After USA scored again in the second half, Ireland were always chasing. The last score was a consolation just before the siren but it improves the points difference. A close look at the tables later will show how realistic it is for Ireland to still qualify in a best loser spot.

Argentina beating Australia is the standout result today. They were also very competitive against NZ, until some late tries put the All Blacks some distance ahead. Japan ran Fiji close but couldn't get over the line. Team GB beat Japan 34-0 so it puts Japan in the same hole as Ireland: hoping that a last big pool win will get them into the next round.

As Pool A has whipping boys South Korea, the working assumption is that one of the two best-placed finishers will come from that group. The last qualifier will probably be decided primarily by the results of Ireland vs Kenya and Japan vs Canada.

Collapse2005 wrote:2 point loss in the end, looks like the dream could be over already. Clinch mach v Kenya.

Ireland probably needs to beat Kenya (who are no mugs) by a bigger margin than the winner of Japan vs Canada.

One of the daft aspects of rugby's inclusion in the Olympics is that it's nigh on impossible to find footage of the matches on social media. The IOC plays hardball in taking everything down, which would be fine if there were other routes available. Often, though, there are not.

Whether Team GB go well tomorrow or not, quite a few people have admired the off-loading game of Harry Glover. Rob Vickerman thinks he's as good as the Fijians, or Sonny Bill Williams in his prime, and believes a Premiership team should have given him a contract. His first stop after the Olympics will be Stade Français. When sevens funding was cut, Glover got a Pro D2 contract with US Carcassone, which is why Stade heard about him.

In the video, he's playing centre, wearing 12 or 7.

Canada beat Japan 36-12, which takes their points difference to -14. Ireland have a points difference of -21, so they will need to beat Kenya by more than seven to get safely ahead of Canada.

Fiji handily beat GB 33-7. Both teams are already through to the quarter finals, so the result decides places, and we won't see how those have played out until later.

GB have bet on a handling game rather than a power game, and the wet and humid weather isn't ideal for that. GB should be concerned they couldn't find a way to crack Fiji's defence even when we had possession. We had a lot of the ball in the first two minutes of the game, and did nothing. Without any scoreboard pressure, Fiji were in total control. They tackled our ball carriers backwards, which often meant the offload wasn't on, because the player outside ended up in front of the ball.

Two of Fiji's tries were the result of daft errors from risky passes which GB might not have tried in a knock-out match. Still, Fiji were comfortably the better team.

Fiji's defence completely suffocated GB - it was a commanding win and a huge psychological statement.

And after that game poor South Korea, who looked exhausted from the outset, got opened up repeatedly by Argentina.

NZ edged ahead of Australia, who qualify for the quarter finals anyway, as they have a superior points difference to other third placed teams.

Ireland are leading Kenya 12-0 at half time. If they keep that gap, they'll qualify.

Final score 12-7. Don't think that will do it.

Very frustrating game. Ireland had a couple of very good chances to add to their total, and put the game away but messed up both. Left them vulnerable to any score by Kenya, who finally got one at the end. Canada have a -14 points difference against Irelands -16, which I think means heartbreak. Kenya are devasted too. A win by any score would have seen them through.

The quarter-final line-up

NZ vs Canada
GB vs USA
SA vs Argentina
Fiji vs Australia

While Fiji have looked the best team, Australia could pose problems. Rob Vickerman says it always adds a bit of spice when Fiji see a Fijian in the opposition line-up and Samu Kerevi is a big name too.

NZ should beat Canada and yet the Canadians are a resilient bunch who are quite capable of springing a surprise.

GB and USA have been well-matched at recent meetings. The USA power game can overwhelm GB, so we'll need to eliminate the errors which blighted our game against Fiji. No idea who will win that one.

South Africa against Argentina is tasty. From memory, the Pumas rarely, if ever, beat the Blitzbokke. They have looked cohesive and aggressive in recent weeks, so this is one of their best chances to do pull a surprise.

How do you watch this all I get from the BBC is a 2-3min highlights clip. I want to watch it all not just Team GB?

I'm in Japan, using this official streaming site:

https://gorin.jp/

It might work outside Japan with a VPN. The quarter finals are on the LIVE tab now.

Three first half tries for NZ gives them a 21-0 lead over Canada. Afterteh first couple of minutes where both sides were feeling each other out, Canada haven't had much of a sniff.

Just seen that Canada are coached by Henry Paul, who had a good England sevens career after his senior XV career was brutally ended by Andy Robinson.

Canada managed two late tries, to take the final score to 21-10. New Zealand were never really troubled, and are the first semi-finalist.

Tom Mitchell and Perry Baker just hurt each other in a collision at the start of the Team GB match against USA. Mitchell looks to have limped off.

Easy first try for Danny Barrett of the USA. He stepped and handed off our tackler for a straight run under the posts. 7-0 to USA

Now US go wide and put an unmarked Perry Baker in for a second. Team GB looking at sixes and sevens. 14-0 to USA

19-0 down vs USA not looking good

Another try for Perry Baker straight from the kick-off. This is the kind of mistake which marred out match against Fiji. We tapped it back from the kick-off, an dteh only players near it were Americans with no-one in front of them. 21-0 with 0 seconds left of the half.

Lindsey Hague gets one back to make it 21-7. USA take the next opportunity to end the half. We needed that try. The early damage to Tom Mitchell seemed to make us lose all our composure. Third USA try was unforgivable, and means we only have a chance if we get back on terms early.

USA yellow card. A deliberate knock down stopped a certain try. Ben Harris scores straight away and we are at 21-14 with a man advantage. We need to get the ball but we knocked on. USA then lose it forward so we'll have an attacking chance with 4:30 left on the clock.

Third try and its back to all square at 21-21

USA back to full complement

26-21 GB now

We get a penalty and Dan Norton is clear on the left wing. We go ahead for the first time. Conversion missed, so it's 21-26 to Team GB with two minutes left.

Team GB have a penalty, with 30 seconds left

We are faffing around, understandably.

I would not have called a scrum.

USA will push like everything to win back possession

Thank goodness!

That was tight

Our scrum was under pressure but we got the ball clear. However, we were stuck near our try line, and in danger of getting turned over. Eventually, USA infringed, and gave away a penalty, which let us end the match as 26-21 winners.

Tactically, GB seem all over the place. Also disagreed with the call to go for a scrum late on from a contentious penalty. But, despite being hopeless at the restarts for the most part, that was a good comeback. Need a huge step up for the semi-final to have a chance.

Mitchell is still walking, and there are no more matches today, so we'll see if he is in any kind of shape to play tomorrow.

He is an important player because he is so street smart, with a good turn of pace. Team GB strategy is based on looking for mismatches, and he is one of the best in the sport at spotting them. We'll miss him if he can't recover.

Team GB face NZ in the semi-finals. NZ will start as favourites. NZ are just as powerful as USA, and more skilfull.

Hell of a game from GB

Argie Bargie!

Why do that.