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Anyone watching Dubai's sevens?

Can't believe nobody is talking about the 7's. USA beating NZ was a surprise. Fiji just too strong for England at the moment.
 
Fiji's Series Champions 2 years in a row is quite possible. But, Fiji almost lost to Japan (not a core team) in the Pool game!

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England's No1 was wearing scrum-cap. I do not remember any 7s players wearing scrum-cap before this. How many 7s players are wearing scrum-cap? Probably below 1%?
 
Can't believe nobody is talking about the 7's. USA beating NZ was a surprise. Fiji just too strong for England at the moment.

How long have you been on the forum? The TRF users don't like Sevens. I would say that the average rugby fan don't watch 7s. Sevens is more for the casual supporters from strange places like USA, Hong Kong, etc
 
How long have you been on the forum? The TRF users don't like Sevens. I would say that the average rugby fan don't watch 7s. Sevens is more for the casual supporters from strange places like USA, Hong Kong, etc

Why has Argentina 7s jersey been changed to Football GK-like pink/black?
 
How long have you been on the forum? The TRF users don't like Sevens. I would say that the average rugby fan don't watch 7s. Sevens is more for the casual supporters from strange places like USA, Hong Kong, etc

...Conrad is not a spokesman for this forum.
 
How long have you been on the forum? The TRF users don't like Sevens. I would say that the average rugby fan don't watch 7s. Sevens is more for the casual supporters from strange places like USA, Hong Kong, etc


There's a slim line between "not watching" it and just "not liking it as much as XV"... ;)
I would have watched it, if it would have been shown here...
 
Watched it and thoroughly enjoyed it, I only really watch the Blitzbokke and usually the semi's and finals so I don't know that much about the other teams though.
Still the best way to get a non-rugby fan into the game in my opinion. USA playing better can only be a good thing for world rugby. Fiji seem to have brought there dominance from the end of last year forward and are going to be very difficult to beat.

I do think the break-down is being reffed poorly in sevens at the moment, just inconsistent and pretty arbitrary I feel the refs are just guessing a lot of the time.

On the blitzbokke: We looked a bit rusty but I still think we'll be one of the strongest teams in the competition this year. Hougard seems to have fit in nicely but I'm slightly less sure of de Jong, also concerns over Kok and Africa's injuries, without them we are not the same team at all.

Anyway I'll be going to the next competition in Cape Town so I'm pretty stoked, apparently Greenpoint stadium is sold out for both days (55k capacity) which is pretty bonkers for sevens.

Edit: @Conrad, I do prefer 15s and 7s is a more casual game (a bit like 20 overs cricket which I can't stand) but it's better than no rugby.
 
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Not only the breakdown! Just on the last day, i saw the following twice: 2 v 2, the offensive player carrying the ball takes his mark and kinda grabs the other defense so the other offensive player can run away. It happened (blatantly) in France vs Scotland and if my memory serves my right (watched quite a few) Aus vs RSA.

I prefer 15 a-side, but playing 7s was part of the yearly routine (we had a 7s season) when i played so it kinda grew up on me.
 
USA beating NZ a surprise? Not really. Remember that USA did win the London tournament last year.NZ were also injury ravaged in the tournament. For the SF against Fiji they only had a line up of 8 fit players. By the end of the bronze match they only had 6 fit players. For NZ in terms of injury it was a horror tournament however they would be pleased to finish 4th above the likes of South Africa.Sevens has evolved immensely in the last 15 years even more so after it got announced in the Olympics. When the world series started off in 2000, it was just a two-horse race, NZ and Fiji were consistently reaching the final of almost every tournament. England was the next team to become consistent like NZ and Fiji. Then teams like Samoa, South Africa became consistent. Nowadays teams like NZ Fiji England South Africa can beat each other any day. Australia, USA, France can also defeat the top teams, however their consistency is in question.
 
Well, betting odds, which represent people's expectations, disagreed with you.
And it wasn't just that they won:
They had never beaten NZ before
The beat them twice in the same tournament
The second game was by quite a margin

When the world series started off in 2000, it was just a two-horse race, NZ and Fiji were consistently reaching the final of almost every tournament. England was the next team to become consistent like NZ and Fiji. Then teams like Samoa, South Africa became consistent. Nowadays teams like NZ Fiji England South Africa can beat each other any day. Australia, USA, France can also defeat the top teams, however their consistency is in question.
Well, facts do not seem to support that statement:
-Out of the last 5 series, you have only 2 champions (4 NZ, 1 Fiji)
-Out of the last 5 series, the top 2 spots have been divided among only 3 teams (Fiji, NZ and RSA)
-Out of the last 5 series, the top 3 spots have been divided among only 4 teams (Fiji, NZ, RSA and Eng)

Sure, you do have an occasional odd winner or a particular set, which was virtually impossible 10 years ago, but if you look at the big numbers, the dominance is still there.
 

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