The fate to the title has already been decided with New Zealand's Mens win in Toulouse securing a double for the Kiwis, whose women had also sewn up the title.
While we’re only playing for minor positions this weekend, there are still two Olympic spots up for grabs which should make it a rather interesting two days of rugby with four teams – Fiji, Australia, Samoa and South Africa – all in with a mathematical chance of claiming those two berths.
There’s also a bit of a change up in playing schedule for this weekend with only three pools and 12 teams fighting for the actual London title, while the four other teams will – Uruguay, Kenya, Canada, and Tonga – will play in their own pool to determine the 12th core member team for the 2024 Series.
London Sevens
Saturday 20 May – Sunday 21 May
Twickenham Stadium
Odds TBA*
Favourites
New Zealand
2022 Finish: Runners-Up
The most successful team in the history of the London Sevens will be looking to nab a sixth London title and continue their Series win celebrations when they take to Twickenham this coming weekend.
The Kiwis were fantastic in France as they strolled to their fifth tournament win of the season and their third on the trot. They hammered Poland 50-0 in their opener and then beat the USA 31-12, and closed their pool out with a 28-7 win over Canada.
They started their play-offs run with a 29-7 win over Japan and beat hosts France 7-31 in the semis. They were given a proper run by the States in the final but managed to score a 14-19 win.
Fiji
2022 Finish: Third
With only two pools competing for honours, I’ve kept the favorites list short with only Fiji accompanying New Zealand on the list.
The Fijians had a tournament to forget in France as they ended up only racking up eight Series points with their eighth place finish. They were far from their best in Toulouse, suffering defeats at the hands of Great Britain twice and Ireland once in the knock-out phase.
While Fiji have been out of sorts this year I think they will be determined to cap the season off by winning a tournament, which is something they have failed to do thus far.
If they’re looking for good omens heading into this one, they are the second most successful side in London winning four of the 18 tournaments held at Twickenham.
Dark Horse
Australia
2022 Finish: Champions
A season that promised so much for the Ausstralians has delivered so little with the men from ‘down under’ now fighting tooth and nail to ensure they earn an automatic qualification spot for the next Olympics.
The Australians gave a decent enough account of themselves in Toulouse this past weekend managing a third-place finish with a 33-7 win over France in the Bronze place final.
The Aussies have a decent enough record in France winning the 2010 and last year’s edition of the tournament.
Verdict: Fiji
I reckon the Kiwis will be suffering from a major hangover here and that’ll leave the door open for the Fijians, who have arguably the easier pool.
