GB face Monaco battle for Olympic decider

ANY rugby tourist, or indeed anybody who finds themselves in striking distance of Monaco, should consider looking in on the Olympic Sevens repechage tournament on June 21-23 which promises to be an absolute belter with 12 squads battling for just the one, final place available, for the main event in Paris at the end of July.

Such has been the ferocity of the World Series competitions over the past two years that two of the three podium teams from the 2016 Olympics – silver medal winners Great Britain and bronze medal winners South Africa – find themselves scrapping for their Olympic lives.

South Africa are in a potentially tricky pool A with Tonga always an unknown quantity depending on which players they have available and Chile capable of an upset, although Mexico will probably be outclassed. Great Britain will line up in Pool B against Canada who are always competitive, Uganda who have one big game in them, and China.

In a very open Pool C Spain, who reached the semi-final at Los Angeles in the World Series, could be the team to beat although there is little to choose between Hong Kong, Brazil and Papua New Guinea. As seeded teams, South Africa and Great Britain could potentially be spared quarter-finals with the winners of Pools A and B being given a bye to the semi-finals.