2018-19 Rugby Sevens Series: Sydney Preview & Betting Tips

The Rugby 7s World Series continues this weekend as the teams head to Sydney, Australia. It will be played at Spotless Stadium in Sydney on Saturday and Sunday. Australia is the defending champion from 2018. After three legs of the 2018/2019 series, it's looking like a three horse race between Fiji, USA and New Zealand. Fiji and USA are both tied on 57 points and they've both played each other in the last 2 finals (Fiji winning both).

Pool A

Fiji is the obvious favourite in this pool at around just $1.12. They're the number #1 scoring team by a fair margin and have looked dominant once again in 2019. They're coming off back to back series wins in Hamilton and Cape Town after a fairly disappointing showing in Dubai last year. England will likely finish 2nd in this pool and they'll be keen to regain the form they showed in Dubai. After finishing 3rd in the first leg of the season, they've been pretty inconsistent since. Samoa played well in Hamilton as expected with the crowd on their side. So they could surprise England and should easily beat Japan.

TIP: No Bet - Fiji WIN

Pool B

The USA has been arguably the most consistent side so far and odds of just $1.09 to win Pool B reflect that. Thus far, the American's have finished 2nd in all 3 legs. As a result, they're equal with Fiji on 57 points and will be looking to make amends after a 38-0 shattering loss against Fiji in NZ. Still, they'll win this Pool and the most intriguing part will likely be their rivalry matchup against Canada. The Canadians are finding a bit of form lately and should be able to finish 2nd. Kenya has fallen right away in form since the mid-way mark of last season and they'll probably struggle to contain the USA and Canada. France is purely making up the numbers here.

TIP: No Bet - USA WIN

Pool C

New Zealand is the heavy favourite in Pool C as expected. They're right behind Fiji and the USA in the standings so a large showing in Australia could put them in a great position when the series moves to North America. They'll have a tough battle against Scotland and Spain is on the rise. But it's hard to see NZ dropping a game in this pool. Scotland performed well in the last series as they beat Australia 24-14 in the 5th place playoff. Then, they just went down to the USA 19-14. So a 2nd placing should see them reach the next stage. Spain could be a dangerous side. They drew with Canada in New Zealand and almost made it through to the next stage (missed out by point difference).

TIP: No Bet - New Zealand WIN

Pool D

This pool will likely see a close affair between Australia and South Africa, which is reflected in the odds. Australia is good value at $2.40 and South Africa is the favourite at $1.75. South Africa hasn't been at their 100% best yet and they're coming off a 29-7 loss against New Zealand in the last series for the Bronze medal. So while Australia hasn't shown much since a 15-14 loss in the Dubai Bronze playoff, they do seem to set up when playing at home. They had a similar run into the Sydney 7s last season and came away with the series victory in the end. So they should be able to beat Argentina and Tonga before the last matchup against South Africa. Argentina couldn't get past Fiji and Australia in Pool A in Hamilton so I doubt much will change in Sydney.

Prediction

After two straight victories in Cape Town and Hamilton, it's a tough ask backing against this Fijian side. They trounced the USA 38-0 in the NZ final and it's just hard to see any side scoring enough points in order to upset them. I think New Zealand will likely meet them in the final, which would be a repeat of the 2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Medal match where New Zealand did beat Fiji. So that may give Fiji even more motivation to avenge that loss and win a 3rd straight series. In the outsider markets, Australia is well worth a play at around $34, considering most home teams play a lot better than their form coming in. For example, the last 2 home sides have finished in the top three despite missing the top three in the series before. The question mark on Australia is do they enough attacking power in them to make it far enough in the tournament? I say probably not but you never know.