Friend: Quarterfinal a pass for Aussies
Sydney: Australian sevens coach Andy Friend says he will be satisfied with a quarter-final showing at the Sydney Sevens this weekend despite finishing second at last year’s tournament.
Such is the injury toll of the Australian team, Friend would rather aim low than run the risk of making any bold predictions ahead of the opening round of men’s games on Saturday. It comes as Olympic captain Ed Jenkins was officially ruled out through injury despite stating his desire to push through the pain barrier to make himself available. He could be joined on the sidelines by captain Sam Myers, Boyd Killingworth, and Alex Gibbon who are yet to get the green light after hurting themselves in the Wellington Sevens event over the weekend. Of the 12 players who were picked for the Rio Olympics in August, Henry Hutchison and James Stannard are the only certainties to feature this weekend in what has been a complete makeover since the highly successful inaugural event in Sydney this time last year.
Countless injuries have curtailed the proper rebuilding phase Friend was hoping for meaning he has well and truly put a lid on expectations. “If we make quarter-finals, I’ll be really happy, so we need to win two of our pool games,” Friend said. “From there, once you’re in the quarter-finals, one more win and you’re into a semi. Who knows what could happen from there?” In his first tournament as head coach, Friend said he would like to: “Win our first two qualifiers and get through to the quarterfinals” but that was at a time when the team had few runs on the board. In front of a blockbuster crowd at Allianz Stadium, the Thunderbolts were pipped in the dying moments by a fast finishing New Zealand 27-24. From there the team backed it up with a narrow 21-15 loss to Fiji in the USA 7s final before third and fourth placings in the following tournaments helped heighten expectations before the Olympics.
While Australia has failed to make the quarter-finals in its last two tournaments in Cape Town and Wellington, Friend hopes the familiarity of Sydney will work in their favour.
“Playing in front of your family and friends, you won’t get a bigger buzz than that. For all these boys … it’s a massive opportunity for them,” Friend said. “You don’t want to be finishing where we’re finishing and we all understand where we’re at as a squad. -World Rugby