The captains competing at Twickenham this weekend joined together to launch the 10th and final round of what has been an enthralling 2015-16 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
Five months ago in December the 2015-16 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series began in Dubai, and here we are now heading into the 10th and final round at Twickenham this weekend.
It’s been an enthralling season with no fewer than five teams winning a Cup including Kenya’s historic first in Singapore, and Samoa’s first since 2012 last weekend in Paris. We’ve seen DJ Forbes equal the record number of appearances (79) alongside Uale Mai, England’s James Rodwell break the record for the most consecutive tournaments (69), and Collins Injera close the gap on the all-time leading try scorer Santiago Gomez Cora to just three tries.
There’s also been some Rugby World Cup stars making their way back into rugby sevens, or in the case of Sonny Bill Williams and Quade Cooper making their debuts, with Juan Imhoff the latest to join the series.
Combined with crossover athletes from the NFL in Nate Ebner and Jarryd Hayne, who has joined the Fiji squad that look set to secure a second successive series title under coach Ben Ryan, it’s been sensational to watch.
“It’s been an incredible series so far,” said England captain Tom Mitchell. “It’s been really competitive and coming into London all the teams look ready for the final tournament of the series. From an England perspective, as the hosts we are looking forward to playing in front of the home crowd in what should be a great spectacle for the sport.”
While much of the attention will be on the top of the table, it is worth noting that Russia and Portugal will battle it out at the bottom of the table with the side finishing the lowest of the core teams dropping out of the 2016-17 series and replaced by Japan, who won the qualifier event at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.
The sides are currently separated by six points with Russia’s 33-0 win over Canada in the HSBC Paris Sevens Bowl quarter-final and Portugal’s 19-17 defeat to USA increasing the gap despite the latter’s Shield triumph.
