Final squads declared for Sevens Wellington

Feb 5 • Blitz Bokke, General News, International, Sevens Rugby, Sevens World Series, World Rugby • 1690 Views • Comments Off on Final squads declared for Sevens Wellington

Photo: Marc Sing Key

All 16 teams have named their final squads of 12 for the fourth round of the HSBC Sevens World Series, with 2014 sevens player of the year returning, and the winner in 2013 missing out through injury.

The final squads of 12 have been declared by the 16 international coaches ahead of the Sevens Wellington, round four of the 2014/15 HSBC Sevens World Series to be played at the Westpac Stadium this weekend.

STANDINGS (Top 5)
1
SOUTH AFRICA 7S 59
2
FIJI 7S 51
3
NEW ZEALAND 7S 47
4
AUSTRALIA 7S 46
5
ARGENTINA 7S 40

Neil Powell makes two changes to the side that won rounds two and three with Chris Dry and Justin Geduld returning for the current series leaders, South Africa.

Tim Mikkelson, the 2013 sevens player of the year was a late withdrawal for the hosts New Zealand, while last year’s winner Samisoni Viriviri returns for Fiji with Ben Ryan making five changes for the side in second behind the Blitzboks.

England are without Dan Norton, Dan Bibby and Phil Burgess, but have named Warwick Lahmert in their side who has represented the All Blacks Sevens before. South Africa are the most experienced squad named and interestingly only 13 players are set to make their debut for the 15 core teams, one of which is Lahmert.

Here we look at five players we believe you should look out for this weekend.

Samisoni Viriviri, Fiji: The Fijian flyer last appeared in London in 2014, and finished the season as the leading try scorer and went on to win the sevens player of the year award. Not that Fiji have been short of pace this season as they sit second in the series standings, Viriviri will add an extra dimension to their game having scored 80 tries in just 16 tournaments.

Warwick Lahmert, England: Lahmert has played for New Zealand before, and won the World Series title with them after winning the London Sevens in 2013, but now finds himself in the England setup for the first time. England will be without key players such as Dan Bibby, Dan Norton and Phil Burgess, but keep an eye on Lahmert who will be ready for the challenge that faces him this weekend.

Seabelo Senatla, South Africa: You can’t not keep an eye on the South Africa flyer, who leads the way in the try scoring tally for the season with 20, two ahead of Pama Fou. The scorer of the fans’ favourite try in both Dubai and South Africa, Senatla will be looking to pick up where he left off last year, and all teams will be wary of his threat out wide.

Collins Injera, Kenya: Injera returns to add not only speed but also vital experience for the Kenyans, with 51 tournaments already under his belt. Hunting down Santiago Gomez Cora’s try-scoring record, Injera is only 41 away from joing the Argentinean coach on 230 career tries and will be looking to score as many as he can this weekend.

Pama Fou, Australia: Made his debut back in 2011 but has really started to come of age under the tutelage of Geraint John. Showed tremendous speed and athleticism as a crucial weapon in Australia’s march to the Cup final in Dubai. Missed last year’s series with injury but won’t be missing from too many highlight reels if his form continues and currently sits second on the overall series try scoring tally.