Day: Rio looming large for 7s sides

If ever the old ‘take one race at a time’ adage were appropriate it is in this year’s Women’s Sevens World Series.

In Dubai without fail, interview after interview after interview, players and coaches alike trotted out the old line: no, we’re not thinking about the Olympics just yet; we’re just concentrating on this tournament.

Every player says it and most of them probably even nearly believe it, but the fact is that Rio 2016 looms large over this year’s tournament and the players and coaches cannot possibly help but have it in the back of their minds.  Extra motivation or extra pressure? Potentially either and a really important one for the team psychologists to get right.

The top four this year qualify for the Olympics with the teams outside those places needing to qualify through their regional tournaments.  Just one game into the series, and arriving in Brazil for the last time before Rio 2016, it is the battle of the European teams that already looks to be the most interesting:

After a few years of juggling between 15s and 7s France finally seem to be fielding something close to their strongest 7s squad. In Sao Paulo, as in Dubai, Caroline Ladagnous and  Shannon Izar will add a real threat to their backline; Marjorie Mayans will carry the ball mercilessly and with Biscarat, Christelle Le Duff and Fanny Horta calling the shots in the middle, suddenly they look to be a force to be reckoned with.

England, also fielding something closer to their strongest squad this year, will certainly have their hands full keeping up with them.  In Dubai, England went with an unusual squad balance – high on mid field play-makers (and you certainly can’t argue with the quality of Danielle Waterman, Natasha Hunt, Alice Richardson, Katy McLean in those positions); but low on raw gas. If they go with that balance again in Dubai it will be interesting to see whether they can deliver the game plan to go with it.

Those two look the strongest European teams, with Russia not far behind. Spain, on the other hand, with so many off-field problems to deal with, seem to be fading into the distance in the rear view mirror. Sao Paulo will be a big one for them: they can’t afford to have two such poor tournaments on the trot.

Maintaining pole position, ominously and imperiously, are Australia and New Zealand.  Ominously, that is, for the rest of the pack. In Dubai Australia played some of the most sublime sevens I have ever seen: accuracy, vision, interplay all outstanding. Perhaps even more ominously, New Zealand, though outplayed by their neighbours for almost the whole final, still managed to find a route to victory, mostly through resolute, swarming defence and quick thinking off turnover ball. And, if that weren’t enough to concern the opposition, Kayla McAlister in back for Sao Paulo,after injury, fresh from claiming player of the tournament at the NZ provisional 7s.

Of the remainder of the teams Canada are, as ever, playing well, but, so far, not quite well enough to knock either Australia or New Zealand from top spot; USA are playing the best 7s we’ve seen from them in a long time and a little bit more consistency from them could make a big difference.

And lastly the reward for sheer unpredictability must go to Fiji. Last season we saw flashes of brilliance from the Fijiana and, with their arrival as a core 7s team this season we were all expecting great things. On the first day in Dubai they looked unstructured and uninspired; but on the second, having just squeaked through to the quarters, they looked infinitely more threatening, losing to England by a golden point  in an energy-sapping and enthralling 5/6 play off.  It will be intriguing in Sao Paulo to see if they can use their Dubai second day resurrection as a springboard to greater things in the rest of the series.

I can’t see anyone threatening the established powers of Australia and New Zealand for top spot in Sao Paulo but I can see a strong chasing pack, jostling for position, and with Olympic qualification at stake, it will be fascinating to see which of those emerges as the most likely challenger coming up on the outside as the Series progresses.