London 7s Preview & Squads

Day One of the event, along with the all of the action except the 3rd Place Play-Off and Cup Final, will be held at the Twickenham Stoop. Those outstanding games will be played at a sold out 80,000 Twickenham Stadium at the conclusion of pool stages of the Men's tournament. Tickets are on salehere

Pool A:New Zealand; France, Brazil, Spain

New Zealandneed to reach the semi final to secure their place in Rio and on current form that seems a dead certainty. They havewon all four of the six rounds played so far in the competition (Dubai, Brazil, USA and Canada) and lead the points table on 80, followed by Canada on 58, and Australia on 56.

Their position means Sean Horan can afford to make five changes to the squad that won in Canada.  The rotation means Kayla McAlister will sit out the next two tournaments and into the squad come players like Lavinia Gould,  whose return to play after her two year ban was delayed by injury.  Ruby Tui also comes back from injury for the last two tournaments while new faces Jordan Webber, Shiray Tane and Kat Whata-Simpkins come in.

Horan said: “Lavinia’s been waiting a while and has been unlucky with injury niggles, so we’re incredibly excited for her.  We’re also excited and looking forward to playing back to back tournaments and we want to come home with our third World Series – not that easy in the pressure cooker of Olympic qualification,” Horan said.

Francecome to London as the leading European team, still in fourth place though the gap has closed a little following their defeat to England in Langford. Since then there have been some distractions for some players in the squad with the Top 8 play-offs and they played a training series against the Netherlands and Tunisia over the weekend of the 25th/26th April, beating the North Africans but losing to the Dutch 2-0 (with one game drawn) - though several squad players were missing due to Top 8 requirements. One big loss for this tournament (and Amsterdam) will be Shannon Izar, who has been a pivitol part of French success this season, but is out with a broken hand that will also almost certainly see her miss the European Championships - which will be crucial if the French slip out of the top four. In addition Elodie Guiglion and Jennifer Troncy also miss London through injury so while Montserrat Amedee, Audrey Amiel and Laurelin Fourcade come into the squad.

Fanny Horta highlights the importantance of the weekend: "One can say that this is the most important tournament because we have no room for error with many nations who are behind us.It is stressful enough but we will turn it into something positive to make it a very good tournament.Mentally, we know we have to perform well so we can to go to Amsterdam on a roll and maintain our place in the top four.Christelle Le Duff agrees: "This really is the most important tournament because the English are four points behind with the US and Russia not far away.The London tournament will be crucial because we have the opportunity to strike a blow in case and get a good result against England.However we must not put ourselves under excessive pressure and keep playing the game we have been playing since the start of the season.We have everything to gain in the last two weeks!"

Brazilwill welcome backEdna Santinifor their final WSWS tournament (the Netherlands will take their place in Amsterdam) after eight months away from the game. The loss of one of their best players has certainly been felt by the Brazlians this season, who nonetheless shown some promise in the series. With Santini back an improvement on their tenth place in Langford may be possible, though there are suggestions that she may not be quite fully fit and so may not be available for all games.

Its been a tough series forSpainwho have suffered from the fallen foul of the vicious circle that sees poor early season results translated into a low ranking and therefore ever tougher pool draws. As we mentioned last time, relying on the huge experience of their leading players is a two edged sword as they are rapidly becoming the oldest team in a series where youth seems to be the key to success. They would relish a quarter-final place, which is possible as they can beat Brazil, but will have to keep the points down against New Zealand and France first.

New Zealand:Ruby Tui,Honey Hireme,Hazel Tubic,Jordon Webber,Sarah Goss (Captain),Gayle Broughton,Tyla Nathan-Wong ,Kelly Brazier (Vice-Captain),Lavinia Gould,Shiray Tane,Portia Woodman,Katarina Whata-Simpkins

France:Montserrat Amedee (Blagnac-Saint-Orens);  Audrey Amiel (Montpellier HRC);  Pauline Biscarat (AC Bobigny 93); Laurelin Fourcade (Stade Bordelais);  Camille Grassineau (Stade Bordelais);  Fanny Horta (USA Perpignan);  Caroline Ladagnous (AC Bobigny 93); Chrystelle Le Duff (USA Perpignan);  Laurianne Lissar (AS Bayonnaise);  Marjorie Mayans (Blagnac-Saint-Orens);   Rose Thomas (Stade Bordelais);  Chloé Pelle (Lille MRCV)

Spain;Angela del pan, Barbara Pla, Berta Garcia, Elisabet Martinez, Iera Etxebarria, Irene Schiavon, Lourdes Alameda, Masia Casado, Maria Ribera, Patricia Garcia, Paula Medin, Vanesa Rial

Pool B:Australia, USA, Fiji, China

Australiahave been handed a boost by the news that current World Sevens Player of the Year Emilee Cherry is back after recovering from a knee injury.Head Coach Tim Walsh has named a 14-strong squad (two to be omitted) with Rachel Crothers (shoulder) the only players ruled out through injury. Evania Pelite, meanwhile, will be part of the travelling party to London, but will not be considered for selection until the final round of the season in Amsterdam as the centre completes her recovery from a thigh problem. Three players - Emma Tonegato, Amy Turner and Tiana Penitani - will all win their 10th Women's Sevens World Series caps in London."It goes without saying that having a player with the quality of Emilee [Cherry] is a huge boost. She is a world-class player who is a key game-breaker for us. I haven't altered too much player-wise from Langford but we have worked on a few things in training that I'm confident will improve our performance from the last two tournaments.

USAname former Olympic bobsledder Emily Azevedo in their squad for London. She’s been training with the squad at recent camps. They go to London on the back of a good tournament in Canada, defeating the hosts for the first time this season to win the plate and hold onto fifth place in the standings.

Ric Suggitt said. “ “Emily has great physical attributes, she’s blazing fast, and very powerful. This will be a great opportunity for her to be judged equally in that environment to make a decision for NACRA Sevens – if we have to go there – and the Pan Am Games.”

In back-to-back weekends, Suggitt said the Eagles must reach a Cup Final in one tournament and a Cup Semifinal in the other to earn an automatic bid to Rio 2016

Fijiwere reported to be "tightening up on loopholes" ahead their trip to Europe. Coach Iliesa Tanivula says that they have been "doing the hard yards" in training. "There is a lot at stake in the remaining two tournaments" he said befor ehis team left for London, "For us realistically we want to stay in the top eight".

According to the mentor, the team has been showing a lot of improvements heading into the tournament. "There is a lot of progress in the team from the past nine months and come game day we will enjoy playing. The responses from the girls are really very good and they are showing a lot of dedication and commitment during training." However, Tanivula says there is always room for improvement in the team. "We have been guilty of fifty-fifty passes. A lot of the time we have been rushing with the play and mistakes in the passes are killing us but I have seen some progress and improvement in the girls," Tanivula added.

The team certainly played some great rugby in Langford, especially on day one including possibly thebest try the World Series has yet seenagainst New Zealand. What they lack is the consistency, and perhaps fitness, to match their talent. They currently lie in eighth place in the rankings and, with rivals Brazil missing Amsterdam, will be mainly looking to stay ahead of Spain to clinch a top eight spot that will ensure participation in 2015/16.

Chinacontinued to look well of the pace in Langford and will almost certainly now face some difficult tournaments after the end of the World Series as they will not only have to fight for Asia's place in Rio in the Asian Championships (where victory will be far from certain against Hong Kong, Kazakhstan and an exciting-looking Japanese team) but will also have to battle in the promotion play-off for the 2015/16 series. It is unliley that they will get much from the opening day's pool games, and their main challenge is likely to again be against South Africa in the Bowl.

USA:Megan Bonny, Kelly Griffin, Kathryn Johnson, Alev Kelter, Bui Baravilala, Lauren Doyle , Victoria Folayan,  Joanne Fa'avesi, Emily Azevedo, Irene Gardner, Melissa Fowler, Kristen Thomas

Australia: Nicole Beck, Charlotte Caslick, Emilee Cherry, Hometown, Chloe Dalton, Dominique Du Toit, Gemma Etheridge, Ellia Green, Shannon Parry, Tiana Penitani, Alicia Quirk, Taleena Simon, Emma Tonegato, Amy Turner, Sharni Williams

Pool C:Canada, England, Russia, South Africa.

After a disappointing showing by their standards in their home tournamentCanadawill be stronger in London for the return of captain Jen Kish and Mandy Marchak while Magali Harvey is making her first appearance since last November.

Kish and Marchak both missed the last round of the series on home soil in Langford in April through injury, while World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year 2014 Harvey has not featured for Canada since Dubai last November. Kelly Russell is out with injury.

Coach John Tait said: “Magali has been working really hard at improving all areas of her game, particular her decisions with the ball and work rate off it. She is in good form right now and she will give us more speed options out wide and at sweep.”

Englandcoach Coach Simon Middleton brings back Rachael Burford and Kay Wilson for their home tournament.Burford missed the last round of the series in Canada due to injury while Wilson will make her first start of the series having also been side-lined with injuries all season.

“Experience will be key for this leg of the series and both Rachael and Kay, who are experienced sevens players and also World Cup winners, offer us that,” said Middleton.

“It is also great to welcome Kay into the tournament squad. She has been so unlucky with injuries this season but she has been training really well and showed such positivity throughout the year.”

England are currently sixth in the series standings and with the final round in Amsterdam on May 22 & 23 - they need to do well this weekend.

“Having the World Series here in our own back yard is going to be a great occasion,” added Middleton. “We are looking forward to showing the English public first-hand what Sevens World Series rugby is all about.

Russiaseem to be timing their run to the finish worryingly well for their main opponents. With France and Australia slipping a little, and a good record against England and the United States, they are a good outside bet to sneak a place in the top four - or maybe take a third European title in a row. What has been impressive has been the arrival of anumber of younger playersin the squad whose presence has helped boost the performance of the team. Although drawn as the third team in areallytough pool this is a team who will really worry both the two higher ranked teams and may well finish in the top four again.

South Africacoach Renfred Dazel has made two changes to his team with Nosiphiwo Goda and Zaandre Theron, who last featured in the Atlanta Sevens in March, reclaimed their places in the 12-member team, while Lorinda Brown and Sunelle Barnard have been rested in a rotational switch. “It was tough to select only 12 players, especially since we have a touring squad of 14 players,” said Dazel, “but we have selected the team that we thought would be best suited for this competition. We have another testing pool round and we would like to show an improvement in our performances so far in the competition, so we need to be ready for the challenge mentally and physically.”

“We know what we are in for this week, Our defence, in particular, has to be solid and we have to make our one-on-one tackles. We also need to convert our point-scoring chances into points. We certainly improved in these areas in the last tournament, and if we can build on that we will give a better account of ourselves.”

England:Natasha Brennan,Rachael Burford (Thurrock),Abigail Chamberlain (C),Natasha Hunt (Lichfield),Katy Mclean,Marlie Packer,Alice Richardson,Emily Scarratt,Michaela Staniford,Joanne Watmore,Amy Wilson-Hardy,Kay Wilson

Canada: Elissa Alarie, Britt Benn, Hannah Darling, Bianca Farella, Magali Harvey, Sara Kaljuvee, Jennifer Kish (captain), Ghislaine Landry, Mandy Marchak, Kayla Moleschi, Karen Paquin, Ashley Steacy, Natasha Watcham-Roy.

Russia:Kudinova, Seredina, Kazakova, Fefelova, B.Khamidova, Shemchuck, Bogacheva, Petrova, Lushina, Titova, Kukina

South Africa:Kirsten Conrad; Phumeza Gadu; Rachelle Geldenhuys; Nosiphiwo Goda; Veroeshka Grain; Zenay Jordaan (captain); Jacqueline Kriel; Sinazo Nobele; Marithy Pienaar; Fundiswa Plaatjie; Mathrin Simmers; Zaandre Theron