Ever since she was sacked from her post as DoR of Trailfinders, you could imagine queues of people at her front-door begging her to take on a top job.

The appointment she has accepted is one of the trickier in the world of women’s rugby. The whole structure is complex: three unions, the RFU, SRU and WRU have to agree on a common policy, work out how much money is in the kitty and how it should be apportioned.

We need only look at the constant changes of staff since GB 7s’ baptism in 2015-16 to see the problems involved. And they have been mirrored by even faster changes in playing membership.

The consequence has been a fall-away in results: two successive fourth places at the Rio and Tokyo Olympics (the most frustrating result of all) to a seventh place in Paris. And the men’s team didn’t even qualify.

Some of the errors made at the Stade de France call into question the quality of the coaching; they could seem very basic. It’s an irony that Ciaran Beattie is now labelled “GB7s director of rugby”. He was in charge of an up-and-down performance at the Olympics. Now he appears to be Mather’s boss.

A new regime

It’s comforting to see that the Trailfinders squad Mather assembled contained a number of GB players: Abi Burton, Amy Wilson Hardy, Ellie Boatman, Emma Uren (captain) and Lisa Thomson, plus Ellie Kildunne and Meg Jones, who played under her at Wasps.

But refining a new squad will be no easier than before. The GB management has to discover which players are willing to throw their hat into the ring, then ensure the respective unions are willing to let them go. The HSBC World Series goes its own way, with little or no consideration for other rugby tournaments happening around the globe.

For Mather it will be like the transition national head coaches have to make after being used to the regular sessions with a club side. The HSBC schedule spreads across months, with large gaps between tournaments. At least her varied past experience means this won’t be such a shock to the system.

In my view the GB 7s management should be undertaking a thorough review of past practices, to avoid the constant changes of staff and players that has characterised the last seven years. Building a programme that suits all the players can’t be easy.

This will be the first time a woman has taken charge of proceedings. There’s little time to lose: the new show kicks off on 30 November in Dubai.

It is: Amy Wilson Hardy, Ellie Boatman, Ellie Kildunne, Emma Uren, Grace Crompton, Heather Cowell, Isla Norman-Bell, Jade Shekells, Jasmine Joyce, Lauren Torley, Lisa Thomson, Megan Jones.

The two reserves are Abi Burton and Kayleigh Powell.

There are very few surprises. One big disappointment is the absence through ongoing injury to Abbie Brown, the long-term captain. It makes Jasmine Joyce the only team-member to take part in her third Olympics in succession.

Congratulations too to Meg Jones and Emma Uren on appearing at their second Olympics.

The senior player is Amy Wilson Hardy, who made her debut in 2013. She has been a wonderful servant to England and GB Sevens, but when we compare her try-scoring record with her leading southern hemisphere rivals’, we can see the distance the team has to travel to achieve success.

GB’s history in this peak event is frustrating in the extreme: two fourth places. They failed to win the bronze medal play-off in Rio and Tokyo. That may not make much psychological difference to their performances in Paris, but a repeated failure to finish better than sixth in the world order reflects their position more clearly.

We have yet to see how big a difference Jones and Ellie Kildunne will bring, fresh from another Six Nations triumph. Kildunne could make a devastating statement.

As I see it, the squad consists of highly talented rugby players, who have consistently failed to meet their own expectations in round after round of the HSBC series.

A Rickety Structure

One underlying weakness is the status of the GB Sevens set-up. Building a squad from three disparate unions is hard.

The inbuilt imbalance between England and the two Celtic nations is revealed in this final selection: of the fourteen players two are Welsh and one Scottish.

This team-building becomes even harder when the coaching staff alters so often. Some head coaches of their leading rivals, like David Courteix (France, since 2010) and Cory Sweeney and Allan Bunting (New Zealand, 2016 to present in various capacities) and Tim Walsh (Wallaroos since 2021), show the value of consistency.

Then the SRU and WRU have different programmes in place from the RFU. For example, a player could be called away to take part in a 15s tour. Through the latest HSBC season Beattie has rarely been able to post the same squad twice running.

The fact that he is designated “Great Britain Sevens Head of Rugby & Women’s Head Coach” strikes me as odd. Why the double brief? Where does his responsibility for the men’s squad end and the women’s begin? You would expect him to have total charge of the women’s squad, and leave the men to their own devices.

Recent History

GB’s advance suffered a huge setback when the RFU decided in its wisdom to withdraw contracts from its 7s players. They were left bereft, though most went on to accept 15s contracts and form part of the all-conquering Red Roses squad.

Jones and Kildunne are the only two to opt to return to the 7s fray, and we can only wish them luck, as we do the entire group.

It all starts on 28 July.

Abbie Brown (captain), Lauren Torley, Emma Uren, Isla Norman-Bell, Megan Jones, Jasmine Joyce, Amy Wilson Hardy, Ellie Boatman, Ellie Kildunne, Rhona Lloyd, Kayleigh Powell, Jade Shekels, Heather Cowell.

You can take your pick of the biggest news, but here’s mine:

Abbie Brown returns from injury to become the sole captain. Despite the belated return of Meg Jones, the feature of co-captains is dropped.

The addition of Jones and Kildunne would have made for far more explosive news if either of them had been omitted. When we consider the number of current Red Roses who have a background in Sevens, it’s almost a surprise that only those two have opted to make the switch. Not for the last time the clash between 15s and 7s makes for awkward choices; the chance of an Olympic medal in Paris against a World Cup Trophy next year. Both are possible, but unlikely.

Bodies will be tired after a gruelling Six Nations and eighteen rounds of the PWR or a long HSBC World Series. Meanwhile the WS has had to make do without the presence of so much talent in the England squad. GB’s current position of eighth in world standings tells its own story. Their chances of a medal remain slim, but the addition of the two 6N trophy winners improves them.

It’s good to see the squad still retaining two Welsh and one Scottish player. That is very important if the title GB is to retain its proper meaning.

The venue, the Cívitas Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, will be a fitting stage for the final round of the World Series. The car park alone looks big enough to swallow several dozen rugby pitches and still feel hungry.

Dates: 31 May – 2 June

Afterthought

News from Australia points in the opposite direction. Charlotte Caslick is one of several Wallaroos from their outstanding 7s squad who are contemplating offering their names to the 15s squad in time for the 2025 World Cup in England. Delighted as Jo Yapp may be to have a cluster of stars descend upon her, her greatest need is for forwards to take the strain and provide front-foot ball for talented backs. That was the gravest shortcoming in their loss to the US Eagles two weeks ago.

Both players, who were influential in the Red Roses earning a third Guinness Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam in a row, have history in the 7s game.

Source: Guinness 6 Nations

The 50-plus capped England 7s player co-captained GB at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, scoring both tries in GB’s bronze medal match before returning to the XVs game as a Red Rose.

Harlequins’ Kildunne, who took inspiration from the 2016 Rio team, enjoyed her first season of 7s in 2018/19 after scoring nine tries in eight matches for the Red Roses.

She featured 39 times in an England 7s jersey and links up with the programme once again after a rich vein of scoring form in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

The duo will be available for GB selection for the Madrid 7s (31 May-2 June).

The transition from Red Roses and Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby duties into the 7s programme has been agreed and collaborated on with various stakeholders including the RFU, GB7s, Leicester Tigers, Harlequins and the RPA.

RFU Head of Women’s Performance Charlie Hayter said: “It is important to support our players’ dreams and aspirations. They very much remain a part of our long-term Red Roses future and hold great ambitions in an England shirt.

“The 7s provides a different stimulus from a mental and physical standpoint. We feel exposure on the 7s circuit will benefit their progression in a Red Roses shirt in the long run but also presents an opportunity for the players to put their hands up for selection at another major world event in a different environment.

“It’s a good challenge for Meg and Ellie to make an impact in the GB environment over the next couple of months and give themselves a chance to compete in the short format of the game on the biggest stage.”

Ellie Kildunne said: “Joining up with the GB 7s squad is an incredible honour and an exciting opportunity to test myself with a new group of players. Competing at Paris 2024 would be a dream come true, and I’m determined to work hard to make it a reality.

“I’m grateful to Quins for allowing me to take this opportunity. I’m already excited to be back with the group next season and can’t wait to support them for the rest of this campaign.”

Megan Jones said: “It’s so exciting to join up with the talented GB 7s squad ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games. This side has a genuine shot of becoming the first female Great Britain rugby sevens team to win an Olympic medal and I would love to be part of that.

“It has been a great year at Leicester Tigers and I’m grateful to them for allowing me to prepare for the Paris Olympics. I can’t wait to be back with the squad next season and look forward to supporting the girls from afar with their remaining games!”

Ciaran Beattie, Great Britain Sevens Head of Rugby & Women’s Head Coach, said: “We are delighted to welcome Meg and Ellie back into the 7s environment. Both have a background in 7s which has helped in their journey to date. Watching them play so well in England’s successful Six Nations campaign has been exciting to watch, knowing that they would be coming in to fight for a place in our Olympic squad.

“It is an exciting few months coming up for GB 7s and we are delighted to have two of the best players in the world adding their experience to this.”

With thanks to the RFU

I detail these positions to help point out Great Britain’s chances of gaining a long sought after Olympic medal. Twice they have finished fourth, but since Tokyo have struggled to get above sixth place in world standings.

Eighth place at least qualifies them for the Grand Final in Madrid (31 May – 2 June).

Can they make a late run for the Olympic podium?

One major reason for their recent struggles has been the lack of English input. That goes back to the RFU’s widely condemned decision to remove their 7s contracts. That decision was not matched by other leading nations. Indeed, you may argue that it is a central reason for the Red Roses’ advance to the top of the 15s tree.

They gained or regained a host of outstanding players: Alex Matthews, Jess Breach, Ellie Kildunne, Emily Scarratt, Holly Aitchison, Meg Jones and Mo Hunt, to name but seven. Of these only Jones made clear she would return to the 7s fold as soon as the recent Six Nations championship was over. But now Kildunne has indicated a wish to be reconsidered, and there may well be others of a like mind.

If that unknown number of England converts did apply for a GB shirt, would they: 1) all be given the chance to prove themselves? 2) be welcomed with open arms, no questions asked? 3) find their Sevens feet again quickly enough to convince the management? 4) make enough difference to give GB an outside chance of a medal?

It’s possible the GB 7s management would look kindly on such moves. Over the past two or three years the make-up of the squad has altered just as often and abruptly as it did in plain old England 7s days.
At the Rio Olympics the only non-English player to be selected was Jasmine Joyce of Wales. Her modest performances in the 6N this year left you wondering if her mind wasn’t set at least 50% on the Paris Olympics.

GB’s latest squad at the Singapore Sevens was:

Amy Wilson Hardy, Ellie Boatman, Emma Uren, Grace Crompton, Heather Cowell, Isla Norman- Bell, Jade Shekels, Jasmine Joyce, Kayleigh Powell, Lauren Torley, Lisa Thomson, Rhona Lloyd and Shona Campbell.

That meant: three Scots, two Welsh and eight English.

As I write (5 May), there are 26 days to the start of the Madrid event. It would be fascinating to know the management’s thinking about the alternative policies available. Are they quite open to flexibility, radical changes in team selections; or do they prefer the idea of a highly experienced core group, familiar with each other’s playing style?

The modest results in this season’s World Series should make them think about a last-minute overhaul.

The quality of the opposition needs no underlining. The three squads now in medal-winning position, the Black Ferns, the Wallaroos and les Bleues, are match hardened and highly unlikely to grow more vulnerable, come the Paris Olympics. The French, the closest to vulnerability, would have the great advantage of home support.

The Management

One of the great oddities of the England 7s set-up has been the speed with which the coaching staff has changed. Charlie Hayter, now Director of England Women’s rugby, is a case in point. For eighteen months (2019-20) he was Head of England Women’s Sevens. For fifteen months (2020-22) he was Team Leader and Assistant Coach of England Women’s Sevens. For eighteen months (2022-23) he was Women’s and Sevens Performance Manager. Note in particular the strange combination of briefs in these last two posts.

At the same time GB Sevens was having to sort out who should be in charge for the 4-year Olympic cycle. In 2019 Scott Forrest was named head coach for Tokyo. He already had seven years experience of coaching with the Scottish women’s Sevens programme. Nick Wakley of Wales took over for the 2023 World Rugby Series.

But at the same time Ciaran Beattie of Scotland became programme lead for the men’s and women’s teams. Just to stir the pot a few more times, Beattie also became men’s assistant sevens coach, while another Scot, Robbie Fergusson, was to combine playing (he is still the GB men’s captain) with skills coaching with men’s and women’s teams.

A few tricky lines of authority to follow here!

Decisions now

As of 2024 Beattie is the man in charge. So it will presumably be his final call in deciding the fate of any newcomers to the group.

As we glance at the so-called ‘core’ GB squad for the 2023 World Series – Ellie Boatman, Abbie Brown, Heather Cowell, Megan Jones, Alicia Maude, Isla Norman-Bell, Celia Quansah, Jade Shekels and Emma Uren – we can spot a number of very familiar names, and they are all England-qualified.

I suspect that most people imagining a perfect Olympic squad would happily add some, if not all, of the names I listed in para. 6 above.

The gold medal for the women secures them a quota place at Paris 2024, guaranteeing 13 athletes their ticket to the Games – and making them the first team sport to qualify for Team GB.

The women’s squad, co-captained by Olympians Abbie Brown and Meg Jones, came up against a determined Polish side in the gold medal match. Backed by the noise of the home crowd, the hosts came hard out of the blocks but ultimately fell short against the precision and pace of a determined British side, who claimed their place on the top of the podium with a scoreline of 33 – 0.

Jones, reflecting on the win, said: “I’m so happy that our journey worked out, it’s a huge sense of relief that everything went to plan. We’ve been pushing the boundaries all year and we definitely pushed them there. I’m so buzzing for the girls – to have this experience and go out there and achieve what we just did is just a stepping-stone in the right direction.

“Paris qualification is exactly what we came for and we’re leaving with it.”

Brown added, “I’m just so proud of the girls. We’ve spoken about this event for months on end, all season, about how we are going to come here and win, and we did it. To put in a performance like we did was just outstanding.

“We do this sport because we enjoy it, we don’t do this to have the pressure – the pressure is just a luxury because we put ourselves in that position. We kept taking it moment by moment, sticking to our processes and with about 30 seconds left, I allowed myself to enjoy the moment.”

On what’s next, Brown said, “I’m going to have a little holiday first, and I’m looking forward to that. And then we get back to it, we keep pushing ourselves and I’m really fortunate that I’m in a group where we keep wanting to be better and challenging ourselves, so when you’re around people that push you, but also hype you up, it’s an amazing feeling and we’re only growing. I’m so excited to see where we can get to by the time Paris comes.”

Robbie Fergusson, who made his Team GB debut at Tokyo 2020, led his side out to meet favourites Ireland in the final. A tightly contested first half saw Ireland take the first score, before a swift equaliser from Team GB’s Tom Williams. The Irish pulled into the lead in the second half, with the final scoreboard reading 26-12 in Ireland’s favour.

In diving, Robbie Lee added another silver medal to Team GB’s haul for the day in a men’s platform final full of twists and turns across six rounds of diving. Having qualified in second from the morning prelims, Lee faced an uphill challenge at the start of the final after his first dive strayed from the competition standard. But the 18-year-old came flying up the rankings with the dive of the competition in the fourth round – earning 96.20 with his Forward 4 ½ Somersaults Tuck (109C), which placed him second overall behind teammate Ben Cutmore at that stage.

Sunday’s synchro bronze medallist Cutmore had appeared to be the man to beat up until the last round, but a misplaced effort opened the door for his competitors to steal ahead in the race for the podium, with Lee holding in for silver at his first major senior international competition.

“It’s very special and I’m so happy.” said Lee.

“A first major senior event and to come away with a silver medal is great, and knowing I could do a lot more and a lot better is so good as well. I’m very exited for the future.”

Over at the breaking venue B-Boy Kid Karam contested the quarterfinals on day two of competition. A tough draw saw him up against B-Boy Menno of the Netherlands, who went on to win the battle and take silver overall.

Fresh from his final battle, Karam commented, “This whole experience has been incredible. I’ve enjoyed it so much and I’ve been blessed to be part of the team. I’ve felt so in place, which is a first for me. Obviously, being on the stage at such an amazing event, the crowd was great, the actual event itself was amazing and it was a great representation of breaking, for what’s to come at the Olympics.

“I’m learning a lot about my breaking by battling the best. I’m learning more about myself and I had a lot of fun on the stage. I just really enjoyed the battle today, actually – I didn’t get the result that I wanted, but I had a lot of fun and that’s the important thing for me, so I’m going to keep working and just aim for the top because the bottom’s overcrowded. That’s what it is.”

And in the women’s modern pentathlon semi finals, Kerenza Bryson and Olivia Green finished in sixth and seventh place respectively to progress through to the finals on Saturday 1 July, while in the women’s triathlon both Sian Rainsley and Sophie Alden both placed inside the top twenty. Rainsley crossed the line in 11th, a little over a minute behind Norway’s Solveig Lovseth who claimed the gold.

With thanks to Team GB

• Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens women’s semi-finals, men’s quarter-finals confirmed after superb day of rugby sevens in front of packed house at Hong Kong Stadium
• Women’s semi-final line-up: New Zealand v Fiji, Australia v Great Britain
• Men’s quarter-finals: New Zealand v Argentina, France v Spain, Fiji v South Africa, USA v Great Britain
• Finals day on Sunday sees the men’s quarter-finals at 10:02 local time (GMT+8) and the women’s semi-finals at 14:43, with the women’s and men’s cup finals at 19:40 and 20:15 respectively
• Paris 2024 Olympic qualification and Series status at stake in most competitive Series in history

The Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens will come to a climax on Sunday after another thrilling day of action at the historic Hong Kong Stadium on Saturday which saw the women’s semi-final and men’s quarter-final line-ups confirmed.

In the women’s event, Series leaders New Zealand will face Fiji in the final four, while Dubai winners Australia will take on Great Britain on Sunday with a spot in the cup finals up for grabs.

The opening men’s quarter-final on Sunday will see a rematch of the Los Angeles cup final with Series leaders New Zealand taking on HSBC Canada Sevens champions Argentina. Vancouver runners-up France face Spain in the next quarter-final, while Fiji will take on South Africa and USA battle Great Britain to decide who will advance to the semi-finals later in the day.

READ MEN’S FULL DAY TWO REPORT >>

READ WOMEN’S FULL DAY TWO REPORT >>

Ireland women’s impressive knockout streak, in which they have won six of their last eight quarter-finals, including three of four this season, hit a green-and-gold wall in Hong Kong. Charlotte Caslick scored twice as Australia, who have now won 25 matches in a row against Ireland, cruised into Sunday’s semi-finals with a 24-5 victory, an improvement on their win over the same team on day one.

Great Britain’s Rhona Lloyd was the hero off the bench to help send her team into the semi-finals – their first this season – with a sensational try in the 14^th minute to defeat France.

Like Great Britain, Fiji also left it late to stake their claim for a semi-final berth, twice coming from behind against USA before winning the match on the final play courtesy of a touchdown from Reapi Ulunisau to make it 19-14 at the final whistle.

After those two tight games, the Black Ferns cruised into the last four with a straightforward 45-12 win over a brave Canada – their second of the day – to round off the second day’s action, and set-up a semi-final against Fiji on Sunday. Jorja Miller and Risi Pouri-Lane both scored twice as New Zealand ran in seven tries.

VIEW WOMEN’S RESULTS AND POOLS >>

Fiji ran in eight tries to beat Canada 40-7 in the opening pool A match of day two en route to finishing top of Pool B and qualifying for the quarter-finals. The remarkable Marcos Moneta scored his 80th and 81st tries in just 17 tournaments as Argentina beat Samoa 26-19.

Argentinian happiness later tempered a little, however, as they were beaten to top spot in pool A in an end-to-end 26-19 loss to fellow quarter-finalists Fiji.

Hong Kong China hero Max Denmark scored in the first minute of their Pool B match against Great Britain. But, then, the match ran to script, as Tony Roques’ multi-nation side took control against the invitational team, comfortably winning 33-12 in the end.

Drama followed, as a pair of late Jefferson Joseph tries gave France a comeback 17-14 win over Uruguay to deny the South American side a quarter-final berth.

Australia’s defence of their Hong Kong Sevens title is over, after they finished third in Pool C, behind USA and surprise quarter-finalists Spain. Perry Baker scored four tries in two matches, as USA beat Japan and Australia to put Friday’s 7-0 loss to Spain behind them and book their place in the last eight and knock Australia down to the 9^th place quarter-final based on points differential.

In pool D, New Zealand made it three from three in Hong Kong, with wins over South Africa and Ireland to set up a quarter-final against Argentina on Sunday. Earlier, Ireland’s Harry McNulty had needed just 15 seconds to open the scoring in their opening match of the day against Kenya. They went on to win 26-14 to set up a decider against the All Blacks. But that loss against New Zealand meant South Africa qualified for the last eight in Ireland’s stead.

VIEW MEN’S RESULTS AND POOLS >>

The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 continues to be the most competitive season yet with the prize of Olympic Games Paris 2024 qualification on offer for the top four women’s and men’s teams in the 2023 Series standings. Hosts France have pre-qualified for next year’s pinnacle event in the nation’s capital.

The women’s Series has seen five tournaments, with New Zealand sitting firmly on top of the standings with 98 points having won the last four tournaments in Cape Town, Hamilton, Sydney and Vancouver.

In Vancouver the Black Ferns became the first team to book their spot at Paris 2024, while Australia, the only other nation to have won a tournament in Dubai, and USA also qualified for next year’s Olympics to be held at Stade de France at this weekend’s tournament by advancing to the quarter-finals.

The men’s Series has seen five different winners (Australia, Samoa, South Africa, Argentina and New Zealand) through the opening seven tournaments. New Zealand, who won in Sydney and Los Angeles, currently sit atop the Series standings with 120 points, followed by Argentina (108), who won the last stop at the HSBC Canada Sevens along with Hamilton, closely trailed by Vancouver runners-up France with 95 points and Fiji and Australia are both tied with 94 points with just four events to go.

At the other end of the table in the men’s competition the number of teams for the next edition of the Series will reduce from 16 to 12 to equal the number of women’s teams and align with the Olympic competition structure, meaning fans can continue to expect an intense battle to avoid relegation throughout the 2023 Series with every match and every point counting towards the final Series rankings.

VIEW SERIES CALENDAR >> 

Play begins at 08:30 local time on Sunday with the men’s 9^th place quarter-finals, while the men’s cup quarter-finals start at 10:02 local time (GMT+8). The women’s cup semi-finals start at 14:43, and the women’s and men’s cup finals take place at 19:40 and 20:15 respectively as the race of Series glory and Olympic qualification continues.

Remaining tickets for the Cathay/HSBC Sevens Hong Kong Sevens are available from: Tickets – Hong Kong Sevens (hksevens.com)

Rugby sevens fans around the world can watch the action via live stream on www.world.rugby in countries where there is no national broadcaster covering the event.

WHERE TO WATCH >>

• Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Ireland and France end day one with perfect win records in women’s tournament
• USA and Australia women qualify for Paris 2024, joining New Zealand and hosts France
• Returning champions Australia off to winning start looking to defend their title as men’s teams play one pool match each
• Play continues on Saturday from 08:46 local time (GMT+8) with the completion of the pool phase and women’s quarter-finals, ahead of the men’s quarter-finals, and both semi-finals and finals on Sunday
• With Paris 2024 Olympic qualification and Series status at stake the current edition continues to be the most competitive in history

The world-renowned Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens never fails to deliver in terms of drama, excitement and entertainment as the world’s best men’s and women’s teams kicked off the first of three days of competition at the iconic Hong Kong Stadium on Friday.

It was a historic occasion for rugby in Hong Kong since it was the first time in the tournament’s 46-year history that the women’s Series featured alongside the men’s in front of a raucous and passionate crowd despite rainy conditions throughout most of the day.

Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Ireland and France women all ended day one with perfect win records to qualify for the quarter-finals on Saturday with still one pool match to play.

Following the Black Ferns Sevens in Vancouver and hosts France, Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallists Australia and USA became the latest two women’s teams to solidify their positions at next year’s pinnacle event to be held at Stade de France based on today’s performances.

In the remaining Pool A matches on Saturday, Hong Kong China will continue their learning curve against Great Britain, while Canada will be looking to avoid a 19th straight defeat against New Zealand.

In Pool B, Ireland will be looking for a 14th successive win against Brazil and Australia will face Fiji for the first time in the pool stages this season.

Finally, in Pool C, Spain will be looking to win their first pool match since the Cape Town tournament in December when they take on Japan, while the USA’s meeting with France will determine who finishes top of the pool.

VIEW WOMEN’S RESULTS AND POOLS >>

Each men’s team played one pool match on day one and the results mostly followed the formbook with the leading teams winning their opening game.

In Pool A, Hong Kong kings Fiji had a real fight on their hands to battle past Samoa but came through 12-7, to make it 15 wins in a row against their Pacific rivals while Vancouver-champions Argentina knocked off a spirited Canadian team to pick up right where they left off.

Great Britain turned the tables on Uruguay who had beaten them earlier in the Series with an equally tense victory, 14-10 in Pool B. Much to the delight of the home crowd, Seb Brien scored two brilliant late tries for Hong Kong China but France edged out the win 21-14 in the final match of the day.

The biggest men’s result of the day came in Pool C when Pol Pla scored for Spain and Los Leones’ defense hold on for the win over the United States in an exciting Pool C clash. Australia, led by the return from injury of Nick Malouf, a key figure in Australia’s 2022 World Series triumph, also knocked off Japan 26-5.

Pool D saw New Zealand open their tournament with a 29-5 win over Kenya, and South Africa secured an impressive victory over Ireland thanks to the winning try by Zain Davids.

VIEW MEN’S RESULTS AND POOLS >>

The number of men’s teams for the next edition of the Series will reduce from 16 to 12 to equal the number of women’s teams and align with the Olympic competition structure, meaning fans can continue to expect an intense battle to avoid relegation throughout the 2023 Series with every match and every point counting towards the final Series rankings.

Following the penultimate event in Toulouse, the 15th ranked team will be relegated, while the 12th through 14th ranked teams will face-off against the Sevens Challenger Series 2023 winner for the 12th and final position on the 2024 Series.

VIEW SERIES CALENDAR >>

Play begins at 08:46 local time on Saturday with the completion of the pool matches before the women’s quarter-finals commence at 19:37. Both men’s and women’s semi-finals and finals take place on Sunday as the race of Series glory and Olympic qualification continues.

Remaining tickets for the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens are available from Tickets – Hong Kong Sevens (hksevens.com)

Rugby sevens fans around the world can watch the action via live stream on www.world.rugby in countries where there is no national broadcaster covering the event.

WHERE TO WATCH >>

Some background

The Sevens programme has been constantly hamstrung by the two conflicting strands of qualification: Only a GB squad will do for the Olympics (cue in 2024); England, Scotland and Wales are welcome entries at the Commonwealth Games.

The need for a combined GB squad involves complex dealings between three unions, the RFU, SRU and WRU.

Since Rio 2016 when Team GB first took flight one recurrent feature has been that the staffing has changed nearly as often as the playing squad. There has been little sense of managed development. At each turn the talk is of a new beginning, and so it is now.

Nick Wakley (WRU) was appointed Team GB’s head coach on 24 October 2022.

SRU 7s head coach Ciaran Beattie became the new Programme Lead for the GB men’s and women’s teams ahead of the 2023 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

Dubai, here we come!

In the approach to Dubai all the talk was of a great future beckoning. ‘A World of Opportunity’, ‘Pushing boundaries”, “The future of this team is absolutely massive”, ‘A new start’
were some of the views expressed by coach and captains.

An initial core squad was also announced way back in October:

Ellie Boatman, Abbie Brown, Heather Cowell, Megan Jones, Alicia Maude, Isla Norman-Bell, Celia Quansah, Jade Shekells, Emma Uren – all England qualified.

The squad that was picked for the opening 2022-23 round in Dubai added Shona Campbell (Scotland), Jasmine Joyce and Kayleigh Powell (both Wales) and the highly experienced Amy Wilson Hardy.

Once again Brown and Jones were named co-captains.

In the event Abby Dow joined the squad, another surprise addition. She becomes one more top 15s player to be invited across to play 7s, like Heather Cowell and Jade Shekels.
Few signs here of retaining the RFU policy of a strict separation of the two formats. But the players who had been playing 15s will presumably miss the rest of the current Prem 15s season. Or will they? Jaz Joyce voiced the conflicts when she said she was gutted to be leaving the Welsh 15s squad.

GB’s first outing of the 2023 World Series saw them finish eighth.

Results

New Zealand 19 GB 12
France 26 GB 21
GB 38 Brazil 7
Quarter-final NZ 22 GB 5
5th semi-final 1 GB 12 Ireland 21
7th place final GB 10 Spain 14

That is: 1 win and 5 losses.

Jasmine Joyce showed just why she is one of the most talked-about players in world rugby right now with another impressive showing.

The Welsh speedster scored two in a comfortable 50-5 win against Mexico in the semi-finals and it was her first-half double that handed Great Britain a 10-0 half-time lead over USA in the final.

The two-time Olympian hung out wide to score her first from close range and then left Summer Harris-Jones for dead with a sudden burst of acceleration as Great Britain counter-attacked from turnover ball.

Joyce sauntered home at the start of the second half to bring up her hat-trick and take her overall tally for the tournament to 10 tries. With Emma Uren landing the first of her three conversion attempts, Great Britain went 17-0 up.

A USA team with the unrelenting Steph Rovetti in never gives up and the Women’s Sevens Eagles got on the board with two minutes to go when their top try-scorer from last weekend, Jaz Gray, sprinted down the left touchline.

Great Britain had the final word, however, Amy Wilson Hardy getting a try after a good piece of support play.

At the final whistle, Joyce went through the increasingly familiar routine of collecting the HSBC Player of the Final award. “To play alongside these girls has been fantastic and to come away with back-to-back wins is incredible,” she said.

“Credit to all of the girls, we have had so much fun and literally every one of us is living the dream.”

Beaten 22-12 by USA in the semi-final, Canada had the consolation of posting the highest score in either of the Fast Four competitions over the past two weeks, slightly improving on their rivals’ 62-0 win over Mexico in Vancouver.

Nine different players got their names on the scoresheet in a 63-5 victory over Las Serpenties. Mexico scored their fourth try of the tournament in the defeat having failed to register a single point in Vancouver.

Courtesy of World Rugby