SIMON AMOR’S MEN’S SEVENS VERDICT

Simon Amor coached Great Britain to the silver medal in Rio. Here’s his take on who is most likely to progress from the pools and go on and win the tournament.

*to qualify for the QFs

POOL A: NEW ZEALAND*

Head coach: Clark Laidlaw

Co-Captains: Scott Curry and Tim Mikkelson

Player to watch: Regan Ware

Rio finish: 5th

Tokyo seeding: 1

New Zealand have been building brilliantly under Clark Laidlaw and they are the current (Sevens) World Cup champions. They have got an incredibly experienced team, with guys who were playing when I was playing – people like Tim Mikkelson and Sam Dixon and Joe Webber. They have been there and seen it all before so that experience will come through.

AUSTRALIA*

Head coach: Tim Walsh

Captain: Nick Malouf

Player to watch: Samu Kerevi

Rio finish: 8th

Tokyo seeding: 6

Have been a bit up and down but have progressed recently in terms of consistency of performance.

ARGENTINA*

Head coach: Santiago Gómez Cora

Captain: Santiago Alvarez

Player to watch: Matías Osadczuk

Rio finish: 6th

Tokyo seeding: 7

Argentina have been really good in the last 12 months, winning numerous titles, and are playing some of the best rugby out there. I think they might just pip Australia to second place.

KOREA

Head coach: Charles Louw and Seo Chun Oh

Captain: Park Wanyong

Player to watch: Jang Jeongmin

Rio finish: DNP

Tokyo seeding: 12

Qualifying for the knockout stages might be too much for this Korean side that lacks much World Series experience.

POOL B: FIJI*

Head coach: Gareth Baber

Captain: Jerry Tuwai

Player to watch: Semi Radradra

Rio finish: Gold medal

Tokyo seeding: 2

Based on the Oceania Sevens just gone, where they had a clean sweep, I think they’ll be favourites. Generally you are looking at two things with Sevens – form and experience. Realistically there is not a lot of form to go on so therefore you are looking at experience and, looking at the Fijian boys, there is a lot of experience. I think it will be Fiji who win the gold medal, with the experience they have got.

GREAT BRITAIN*

Head coach: Tony Roques

Captain: Tom Mitchell

Player to watch: Dan Norton

Rio finish: Silver medal

Tokyo seeding: 5

You’ve got a real mix in there with some experienced players like Tom Mitchell, Dan Bibby, Ollie Lindsay-Hague and Dan Norton and some younger guys like Ben Harris from Saracens. Ethan Waddleton is an out-and-out Sevens hooker, probably one of the best over the ball

I’ve ever seen, and will be a real threat to teams. I think the adversity they have gone through will have bonded them very closely.

CANADA

Head coach: Henry Paul Co-Captains: Nathan Hirayama and Harry Jones

Player to watch: Nathan Hirayama

Rio finish: DNP

Tokyo seeding: 9

They have some very experienced players like Nathan Hirayama, Canada’s flag bearer, and because of him and his ability to kick off both feet, they are excellent at kick-offs. Canada have progressed nicely under Henry Paul in recent years so they’ll be a tough team to play against.

JAPAN

Head coach: Kensuke Iwabuchi Captain: Chihito Matsui

Player to watch: Lote Tuqiri

Rio finish: 4th

Tokyo seeding: 11

One of the real surprises in Rio. I still remember our pool game against them, where we only won by a conversion (21-19), and they went on to beat New Zealand.

POOL C: SOUTH AFRICA*

Head coach: Neil Powell

Captain: Siviwe Soyizwapi

Player to watch: Chris Dry

Rio finish: Bronze medallists

Tokyo seeding: 3

If ever there was a team that could manage without their Covid-hit head coach being there, it is South Africa because of how strong their culture is and how much the team drive that.

KENYA

Head coach: Innocent Simiyu

Captain: Andrew Amonde

Player to watch: Collins Injera

Rio finish: 11th

Tokyo seeding: 9

Kenya may struggle. They got it a bit wrong in Rio in terms of their preparation, and given the changes that consistently go on with the national team, it will be difficult for them to make much of an impression.

Head coach: Mike Friday

Captain: Madison Hughes

Player to watch: Carlin Isles

Rio finish: 9th

Tokyo seeding: 4

This will be the last chance for a lot of this squad. They have world class coaches in Mike Friday and Phil Greening supporting him, and will be primed and ready to go. I can see then either topping the pool or coming a very close second.

IRELAND*

Head coach: Anthony Eddy

Captain: Billy Dardis

Player to watch: Jordan Conroy

Rio finish: DNP

Tokyo seeding: 10

I expect them to go well. They have been blessed in having the repechage. Everyone else has had competitions but being under pressure and playing and winning when it matters most is absolute gold dust. They also have some really great players in Billy Dardis, Jordan Conroy and Harry McNulty.

BETTING ODDS:

Fiji 2/1, New Zealand 13/5, South Africa 100/30, USA 7/1, Australia 17/2, Great Britain 12/1, Argentina 40/1, Ireland 60/1, Kenya 66/1, Canada 100/1, Japan 150/1, Korea 500/1