New Zealand women’s qualification for the quarter-finals after two victories officially clinched their seventh HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series title with two days to go, while Fiji, Great Britain and Australia women and Australia, Great Britain, Argentina, New Zealand and France men also finished Friday with perfect win records at the Stade Ernest-Wallon in Toulouse.
- Wins over Poland and USA clinched a seventh HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series title in ten years for New Zealand by ensuring a spot in Saturday’s quarter-finals in the final event of the women’s Series
- Fiji, Great Britain and Australia women also end day one unbeaten
- In the men’s competition New Zealand, Great Britain, Argentina, France and Australia finish day one with perfect win records
- The HSBC France Sevens marks the penultimate round of the men’s Series as the race for Series glory, Paris 2024 Olympic qualification and Series relegation continues
- Play begins at 09:15 local time (GMT+2) on Saturday with the final women’s and men’s pool matches before the quarter-finals kick off at 15:26
The New Zealand Black Ferns Sevens clinched their seventh HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series title with back-to-back wins to secure a quarter-final spot on Saturday, while the men’s tournament favourites also impressed on day one of the HSBC France Sevens in Toulouse.
Under the cheers of the children massed in the stands of the Ernest-Wallon stadium, the opening day of the final event of the women’s 2023 Series and the penultimate round of the men’s campaign offered a lot of shocks and surprises, between showers and sunshine.
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From New Zealand’s crown, Ireland’s victory over France, Sophie de Goede’s debut in the sevens, guest team Poland’s first try, Maddison Levi’s record number of tries scored in a season and Australia’s biggest score of the day against Brazil (52-0), day one of the last women’s stop of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series lived up to its hype.
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The Black Ferns Sevens, along with hosts France, Australia – the only other nation to win a women’s Series event this season – and USA have already qualified for Paris 2024, leaving the remaining spot to be decided this weekend with just four points separating Ireland (64), Fiji (62) and Great Britain (60).
If Ireland finish ahead of both Fiji and Great Britain in the end-of-weekend standings, they will secure the final Paris 2024 spot. For Fiji to claim qualification, they need to finish one place higher than Great Britain and two places ahead of Ireland while Great Britain need to finish two places higher than Fiji and three above Ireland to book their ticket to Paris next July.
The quarter-final line-up is still taking shape with a final pool match to be played for each team on Saturday. Only New Zealand, Australia, Great Britain and Fiji have two wins from two matches.
In Pool A on day two, USA start as favourites against Poland, while New Zealand go into their match against Canada confident of extending their 20-game winning streak against the team.
In Pool B, after falling to Ireland, France will have to aim for a win against Australia, against whom they have won only once of their last four matches, 10-5 in Sydney. But Les Bleues have never managed to beat Australia at home, losing all four of their previous attempts. Against Brazil, Ireland will be looking to pick up as many points as possible in the hopes of maintaining their lead for automatic qualification for Paris 2024.
In Pool C, Fiji will be looking to build on their two wins on the opening day against Great Britain, a team two places below them in the rankings. Fiji have won only two of their previous eight matches this season (Hamilton and Vancouver). Both teams are looking forward to this match in the hope of reaching the quarter-finals and qualifying for Paris 2024 by Sunday. The match between Japan (9th in the standings) and Spain (10th in the standings) promises to be very close.
The quarter-finals of the women’s tournament will start at 15:26 (GMT +2).
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At the end of the first day of the men’s competition, the quarter-finals are not yet decided, but five teams have already distinguished themselves after two wins in two matches: Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Argentina, and France.
Winning the tournament in Toulouse is still a long way off, but qualification for Paris 2024 Olympics is on everyone’s mind this weekend. After hosts France and New Zealand (who qualified in Singapore), the three remaining places will be decided over the next two weekends. Argentina can officially qualify this weekend by playing in the Cup semi-finals, while Fiji can secure their place by winning the title at the Stade Ernest-Wallon on Sunday night.
The stakes are also high at the bottom of the table. With the number of teams reduced to 12 in the new Series format in 2024, the first 11 teams at the end of this weekend will secure their place for next year; those finishing between 12th and 14th will meet in London in a week’s time, where they will be joined by Tonga as winners of World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2023.
By finishing Friday winless in France, Japan have moved a step closer to being relegated from next season while the battle to avoid the final play-off in London has been reignited between Uruguay, Spain, Kenya and Canada.
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Play gets under way at 09:15 local time (GMT+2) on Saturday with the final women’s and men’s pool matches before the quarter-finals kick off at 15:26.
Tickets for the final two days of the HSBC France Sevens are available at www.francesevens.fr with the semi-finals and finals taking place on Sunday.
Rugby sevens fans around the world can watch the action via live stream www.world.rugby in countries where there is no national broadcaster covering the event.
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series arrives in Toulouse at a very exciting time for rugby in France as the country is set to host Rugby World Cup 2023 ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 next summer.
With the women’s series concluding on Sunday, participating teams present in Toulouse will attend the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series Awards in the evening to recognise and celebrate the achievements of those involved in the 2023 competition. The men’s ceremony will take place next weekend after the HSBC London Sevens. – WORLD RUGBY
