Australia target 7s spot

August 11, 2012 | Filed under: Fiji Sports | Posted by:

Source: IRB   

Sydney: The Australia Sevens team are aiming to secure a Rugby World Cup 7s qualifying spot in front of a home crowd later this month, as North Sydney Oval plays host to the Oceania 7s Championships.
The tournament is the next step in the qualification process for next year’s RWC Sevens and although Fiji, New Zealand and Samoa have already qualified for the competition in Moscow, two more places are available to teams from the Oceania region.  The draw for the tournament, which takes place on August 25-26, has been announced with Australia set to face Solomon Islands, American Samoa and Tonga in Pool B, whilst Samoa top Pool A, alongside Papua New Guinea, the Cook Islands and Tahiti.
“There’s some pretty handy sides in our pool but we’re focussed on getting our own house in order,” said head coach Michael O’Connor.
“The guys know what’s at stake, we know the gravity of the occasion but the fact is we’re playing this tournament in Australia in front of a home crowd.  “We’re heading into the tournament with a fair amount of confidence because we have experienced players in this squad.
“A large chunk of our squad are from Sydney so they’ll be comfortable in their surroundings and North Sydney Oval is a great ground that will lend itself to Sevens.”
Australia finished sixth overall on the 2011/12 HSBC Sevens World Series, including a Cup victory at the 2012 Tokyo Sevens, and the Gold Coast Sevens will commence the 2012/13 Series at the beginning of October.
Tournament director, Michael Groom, said the Oceania 7s however has developed a reputation for exciting and at times unpredictable 7s between some of the best teams in the world.
Oceania 7s day
one fixtures
Papua New Guinea v Cook Islands
Samoa v Tahiti
Tonga v American Samoa
Australia v Solomon Islands
Papua New Guinea v Tahiti
Samoa v Cook Islands
Tonga v Solomon Islands
Australia v American Samoa
Cook Islands v Tahiti
Samoa v Papua New Guinea
American Samoa v Solomon Islands
Australia v Tonga

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