World Sevens Series

Hamilton 7s to have no quarterfinals

A new format has been placed by World Rugby for the tournament next month where teams who finish first in their pools will directly qualify to the semifinals.

Fiji who is the defending Hamilton 7s champion will need to win all their pool matches to keep their hopes of retaining their title alive.

Fiji is pooled with Australia, Argentina, and Samoa.

Cape Town 7s champions New Zealand are in Pool A with Scotland, USA and Wales while South Africa are in Pool B with Kenya, England and Japan.

France has been drawn with Ireland, Canada and Spain in Pool C.

Fijiana finish strong at Kitakyushu 7s

After losing all three pool matches on day one against Ireland, USA and England, the Fijiana bounced back to defeat hosts Japan 28-17 before crushing Spain 41-12 in the playoff for ninth place.

It's Fiji second consecutive ninth place finish under new head coach Saiasi Fuli, who was appointed in December.

Fiji remain in 10th place in the overall World Series standings after four of six legs, three points behind the Spaniards but a whopping 21 points adrift of the top eight.

Samoa has potential to win Singapore 7s

The team missed out on its chance of featuring in the main final after losing to France 19-12.

The Gordon Tietjens coached side won two of its pool games and lost to South Africa 21-7 in its final pool game.

After the semifinal loss, the team then went on to settle in fourth place in the tournament after losing to USA 22-10.

After the competition in So Kon Po, Samoa’s Alamanda Motuga is ranked second in the DHL’s performance tracker with 231 points.

Samoa will take on Spain in their first match of the Singapore 7s before taking on Japan on Saturday.

Samoa aims to finish top four of the series

Coach Gordon Tietjen says it’s every team’s dream to play and win at the World Seven’s capital, the Hong Kong 7s.

Currently placed seventh in the World Series standings, Tietjen says they want to improve its performance to get automatic qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Ireland retains core players for Hong Kong 7s

The 13-man squad travelled to Hong Kong last weekend ahead of the tournament, which starts on  Friday. The winner of the competition will gain a place in next season’s World Rugby Series.

Captain Billy Dardis, Ian Fitzpatrick, Hugo Keenan, Terry Kennedy, Harry McNulty, Bryan Mollen, John O’Donnell and Mark Roche all ran out at Hong Kong Stadium last year, while Foster Horan was the 13th man.

Now in Hong Kong for the first time are Jordan Conroy, Adam Leavy, Mick McGrath and Greg O’Shea.

Fiji to host Olympic 7s regional qualifier

The top four placed teams in the current men's and women's World Series will earn automatic Olympic qualification, joining hosts Japan in the final draw in July next year at Ajinomoto Stadium.

New Zealand and Fiji are currently 2nd and 3rd respectively in the men's series standings, while New Zealand and Australia are ranked 1st and 4th in the women's competition.

Fifteens recruits keep Aussie sevens players on their toes: Holland

And, according to Holland, that is not a bad thing for two reasons: the best players possible are required for Olympic success, and secondly, competition for spots will only serve to help Australia’s current players by never letting them feel “safe".

"We haven’t got the results we wanted this year so it does open a little bit of a door up for some of those guys to come and give it a shot,” Holland said.

The Aussie men’s team head to Hong Kong this week, looking to win their first title at the iconic tournament since 1988.

One new cap for Samoa 7s in Hong Kong

The Moata'a fullback was recently named MVP of the Taula Apia Rugby Union competition.

Tomasi Alosio returns from an injury sustained in the Sydney Sevens, while Siaosi Asofolau is also fit again after missing the last tournament in Vancouver.

Meanwhile, Laaloi Leilua is set to make his first appearance on the World Series this season after last featuring at the Sevens World Cup in July.

Joe Perez and Gasologa Pelenato were ruled out through injury, with Danny Tusitala and Maauga Iamanu overlooked for the next two tournaments.

Fiji 7s close gap on leaders as Samoa continue progress

Having pipped New Zealand 22-21 in the Cup quarter finals, courtesy of an intercept try in the dying seconds, Fiji were thumped 31-12 by a resurgent South Africa in the semifinals, with the Blitzboks going on to claim their first tournament victory of the season - and only their second in the past 15 legs.

Fiji recovered to defeat to World Series leaders the United States 24-14 in the third place playoff, after the Americans failed to reach the final for the first time this season.

Samoa 7s seeking big improvements

The Manu ranked 13th last season, and only managed to make the Cup quarter finals once in ten tournaments.

Coach Sir Gordon Tietjens believes a top eight finish is achievable this time around but nothing can be taken for granted.

"To do well in a World Series you've got to get off to a good start so we certainly have got a very very tough pool - probably the pool of death really if you look at all the pools. It's New Zealand first up, which is going to be a toughie, and USA and Argentina so no easy games looking ahead," he said.