The 2017-18 Rugby Sevens series continues in Hong Kong this weekend for the South-East Asia leg. It will be played at Hong Kong Stadium from April 6th to 8th.
2018 Rugby Sevens - Hong Kong Preview
South Africa start as a top contender for this series with Sportsbet and CrownBet giving them $9 odds. Their Pool for Hong Kong is fairly good with England and Scotland their main challenges for the top spot in the Pool. They came third in the last series in Vancouver and lost the final to Fiji in Hong Kong last season. So they’ll likely make the top three again.
Fiji is looking really good for this series in Hong Kong and $2 is great value. They’ve won the last three series here and they’re coming off a series win in Vancouver. In the last 3 series in 2018, they’ve won two and finished third in the other. So they’re showing great form for this series. They have been drawn against New Zealand in Pool A, which they should win. They’ll also face off against rival Samoa and Russia is starting to improve. In the end, Fiji’s form in Hong Kong and in their last 3 series has me backing them to win this.
New Zealand is again outsiders in the betting and they’re form isn’t looking great. They haven’t finished inside the top three in the last four series and earned just 10 points in Vancouver. Their Pool is tough with a matchup against Fiji and Samoa could surprise them.
The USA are coming off a win in Las Vegas and 15 points in Vancouver. So they enjoyed the North American leg of this season. They have a fairly easy Pool group with Argentina, Wales and France. Argentina will be the toughest opponent but the USA smashed them in the Las Vegas final. So the USA should easily top this group. They’re likely the best value bet to challenge Fiji.
Australia’s campaign has been dealt a cruel blow with the sickening injury to captain James Stannard. He’ll miss this series and the Commonwealth Games. The Aussies sit 4th on the points table and finished with 12 points in Vancouver. Their pool is pretty comfortable with matches against Kenya, Spain and Canada. Kenya will likely be a tough matchup as they made the final in Vancouver. In the end, it’s hard to see Australia winning this series. Their best performance was at home in Sydney and they have struggled in the last two series.
England has struggled since finishing third in Dubai as they’ve fallen outside the top three in the last 5 series. They have been consistently earning around 10 points in the last few series. So they’re just lacking the scoring options to beat the likes of South Africa, who they’ll face in Pool C. Their matchup with Scotland will be the key in this Pool. In the end, I can’t see them causing an upset.
Argentina is a hard side to gauge. They’ve finished inside the top three in 3 of 6 series this season. But in the other three, they’ve struggled to get near the top sides. They have a tough matchup against USA in Pool D so they’ll likely miss the top three.
Samoa has struggled in the last two series, earning 3 points in both Las Vegas and Vancouver. They face Fiji and New Zealand in Pool A. So I can’t see them winning either matches.
At $26, Kenya is way underpriced considering they made the final in the last series. They can finish first in this group as they face Australia, Spain and Canada. Australia is the toughest matchup but this side should be confident of causing more upsets in Hong Kong. They probably can’t win this series but it’s great to see the Kenyans’ in form.
Fiji has dominated the Hong Kong series with 5 wins in the last 6 years. They’re also coming off a series win in Vancouver. So that’s enough form to back them for this series.
TIP: Fiji to WIN - $2 at Sportsbet
