Aussies ready for Fijians

AUSTRALIA is set to kick off the 2021 PacifcAus Sports Oceania Sevens with a blockbuster encounter against Fiji on Friday.

The men’s side will face the 2016 Olympic Gold medallists to start the tournament in Townsville, marking Fiji’s first international game since early 2020.

This will be followed by World Series champions New Zealand against the Oceania Barbarians, with the women’s teams closing out the opening session.

The Barbarians sides will be made up of contracted Australian players and standouts from the AON Uni Sevens pushing for selection for the upcoming Olympics.

Australia’s women side will have to wait until Saturday before facing their arch-rivals Kiwis, with the fixtures mirroring the Olympic format, allowing each team to play two matches per day (one per session).

All matches will be played at Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium from June 25-27, with the afternoon session on Friday and Saturday starting at 2pm, followed by the evening session at 7.30pm.

The Sunday sessions will start earlier at 12.30pm and 5.45pm respectively.

It will be the first time the men’s teams have played in the same tournament since the Vancouver Sevens in March 2020, with the women last playing against each other in Sydney a month earlier.

Each team will play six games across the competition, playing each other twice, with the highestranked team after those matches deemed the champion.

Australia’s men side will be announced on Thursday, with the women’s team set to follow on Friday.

The competition looms as the final official hitout before the Olympics, which are set to begin from July 26.

Australia will announce their squad for the Tokyo tournament in early July, with the women looking to back up their efforts from 2016.