Fiji were in devastating form
Even without the in-form Nikola Matawalu, Fiji were excellent. They have found a consistency that they have lacked in other years despite the huge personnel changes they seem to go through from one pairing of events to the next.

Metuisela Talebula and Waisea Nayacalevu have stepped up to join stalwarts Joeli Lutumailagi and Setefano Cakau.

Fiji were the only side not to be challenged on Day#1 as they comfortably dispatched Zimbabwe (40-0); Portugal (28-5) and Argentina (47-7).

England regroup and finish strongly
Neither captain Greg Barden nor tough centre Iso Damudamu made it to Glasgow and someone put England in one of the crappiest playing kits ever seen but they topped Pool A all the same.

Ben Ryan’s men drilled Kenya 40-7 in their first outing and then overcame the United States who came back from 2 tries down in the first spell to tie things up with 2 tries of their own to start the second half.

Then they beat Australia in their last match 19-14 to turn the tables on the Tokyo champions.

England meet South Africa in their quarter final on Day#2 in a repeat of the Quarter final in Tokyo which England won 21-17.

Wales Upset South Africa 17-5
It was always going to be a challenge for Paul Treu’s men going into the tournament without Player of the Year, Cecil Africa and his deputy Paul Delport.

Series captain Richie Pugh is not with the team but Rhys Shallard returned from injury and scored the first try to sustain Wales momentum on Day#1.

Wales had beaten an up beat Scotland 17-14 in a great match before dispatching Russia 31-5.

Wales meet Australia in their quarter final which should be a cracker while South Africa will have a tough assignment against England.

Kiwis sneak past Samoa by 1 point (23-22)
Samoa have the best record against New Zealand of any team in recent World Series history.

They beat them in the final at Las Vegas and put them out of the Tokyo Sevens in the semi-finals.

But the Kiwis had their measure this time.

Waisake Naholo started the game on fire scoring 2 tries in the first 2 minutes but Samoa came back strongly with 2 tries of their own (Alafoti Faosiliva; Faatoina Autagavaia) both converted by Uale Mai to lead at half-time 14-10.

New Zealand started the second half strongly with tries to Bryce Heem (from the kick off) and then Charles Piutau to make it 22-14.

Samoa finished the game with a consolation try in extra time to substitute Faalemiga Selesele which was converted.

New Zealand meet Argentina in their quarter final and Samoa face a rampant Fiji.

England turn the tables on Australia
England beat Australia in the last match of the day 19-14

The 2 teams have see-sawed in the last 3 world series events.

England beat Australia in Hong Kong with a last-minute, 80 metre try at the Quarter Final stage (19-4).

Australia got their revenge in Tokyo when they beat England 33-12 in the semi-final.

This was the first time the Ashes sporting rivals have met in the pool stage this season and it was England who got the upper hand.

Australia came into Glasgow full of confidence having won the last event in Tokyo in convincing fashion and then beating New Zealand in a one-off game last weekend. But they had a tough couple of matches going into the clash with England.

• USA 29-14
  Australia trailed at half-time by 2 points having conceded 2 tries to a rejuvenated United States outfit. The final scoreline was flattered by a last minute Australian try
• Kenya 28-26

The Australians squandered a 3 tries to 1 advantage at half-time to be trailing by 5 with less than 2 minutes to play. They were saved by a Lewis Holland try in the last minute then winning with the conversion from Matt Lucas.

England face South Africa in their quarter final while Australia meet Wales in theirs.

No team outside of the World Series top 6 have won a tournament this season and there is no reason to think it will happen this week in Glasgow.

The Top 6

1. New Zealand

With all but one of their injured players back (Toby Arnold), the Kiwis have got to be in with a good chance in Glasgow.

They have everything to play for with a narrow 6 point lead in the series over Fiji and a lot of young players coming through with eyes on Olympic gold.

But they were poor in Sydney in an outing against Australia on Sunday with dropped ball, lack of cohesion and missed tackles.

At the time coach Teitjens would have been spitting tacks but he will now use it as a wake-up call to ensure his players are disciplined and focused for the series run-in.

Jack Wilson continued to impress in the one-off match showing good pace out wide for a big man.

Frank Halai returns on the wing and Solomon King shores up the forwards.

Our pick: Finalists

2. Fiji
Fiji were unstoppable in Hong Kong. And this was after making big changes to their team. They came unstuck a week later in the wind and rain in Tokyo when they lost to England and Samoa en route to the Plate.

They have since made another 6 changes to their side including leaving out Waisea Nayacalevu, a revelation in Hong Kong. Then there was the last minute exclusion of star playmaker Nikola Matawalu for ‘indiscipline’.

There is still no place for the highly experienced duo of Osea Kolinisau and Emosi Vucago.

Somehow the Fijians seem to be comfortable with a level of fluidity in their squad.

They have everything to play for as they try to topple the Kiwis in the series table with 2 events to make up the 6 point gap.

Our pick: Fiji will either win it all or fail to make the semi-finals – no half measures.

3. South Africa
South Africa have suffered more injuries than most this season. Playmakers Paul Delport and Cecil Afrika were ruled out of the series after sustaining injuries in Hong Kong in March.

So Paul Treu is taking the opportunity to blood new players with 4 new boys coming in – Clayton Blommetjies, Ulengo Jamba, Cheslin Kolbe and Ryan Nel.

On the surface, the changes and selections could look like a focus on the future but the list of fit players remains impressive. Steven Hunt comes back after a bereavement in the family to join live wire half Branco duPreez and hard working forwards Kyle Brown and Frankie Horne.

Cornal Hendricks and Stephen Dipenaar are also in the backs so writing off the Blitzbokke would be a mistake.

South Africa finished very strongly last season winning both the Scotland and England events and they have been consistent this year but it remains to be seen whether they can win a tournament without the brilliance of Cecil Afrika.

Our pick: quarter finals

4. England
England have been forced into changes for the final 2 events of the series.

• Greg Barden has retired, replaced by Andy Vilk
• Christian Lewis-Pratt is injured
• Isoa Damudamu was injured in the Army v Navy match at the weekend

On the positive side, Chris Cracknell has recovered from the arm injury that kept him out of play in Tokyo.

Also positive is the scintillating form of Dan Norton. He tops the series try scorer’s table and will be rearing to go and Mat Turner is due a big tournament.

England are capable of winning and the weather forecast might help them as wind and rain are forecast for the weekend. They were superb in the way they dismantled Fiji in the quarter finals at the Tokyo Sevens in the wind and rain.

Damudamu is a big loss as he brought variety and strength to the English midfield but Ben Ryan will have his team primed and there will be slightly less pressure on England this weekend rather than next.

Our pick: Finalists

5. Samoa
Paul Perez’ injury is a huge blow to Samoa’s chances. He has been in devastating form. The combination with Ken Pisi has produced a lot of tries and keeps defenses guessing.

Robert Lilomaiava is also injured and Samoa have a new coach in Tausa Faamaoni Lalomilo.

Some teams rise to meet these kinds of challenges and any team with Lolo Lui, Uale Mai and Alafoti Faosiliva in the starting lineup will be dangerous.

Our pick: semi-finals

6. Australia
They may be in 6th place overall but the Australians have momentum going into the last 2 events of the series.

• They won the last series event in Japan very well
• They just beat New Zealand in a one-off exhibition match in Sydney before leaving for Scotland

In a very short time, Australia have managed to build depth to go with their young talent.

They seem to have a wealth of playmakers (Faalavaau, Yakapo, Walker, Foley), finishing ability (Jenkins, Stubbs) and hard working forwards (Parahi, McMahon, Anderson).

Several players really took their chances in Sydney over the weekend and coach Mick O’Connor will be confident heading to Scotstoun Stadium.

Capable, confident Australians make for very difficult opponents.

Our pick: Top 3 finish

The Scotland Sevens is a genuine 6 horse race between the top teams in the world:
- New Zealand
- Fiji
- South Africa
- England
- Samoa
- Australia

The World Series is also wide open but realistically the competition is between 2 teams. New Zealand remain on top of the with 128 points with Fiji close behind on 122. South Africa (105) leap-frogged England (104) to take 3rd and Samoa round out the top 5 with 101.

So who is going to win in Glasgow?

1. New Zealand

Going into Hong Kong, it wasn’t clear whether the Kiwis could win without their main attacking weapon, Frank Halai.

Their most experienced forward, Solomon King was also ruled out with injury. Then, at the last minute Lote Raikubula pulled out as well.

New Zealand managed to make the final in Hong Kong and came 3rd in Tokyo but they have not won either of the last 2 events in a series since the 2007-08 season.

Realistic chances: The new players did well in Hong Kong and Japan but they weren’t clinical. Without King, Raikubula and Halai, the Kiwis will struggle to secure victory in Scotland.

2. Fiji

The flying Fijians were sublime in Hong Kong when they beat New Zealand convincingly in the final. They had 6 new players but they gelled superbly in a complete performance.

Fiji are a balanced side with experience (Setephano Cakau) and enterprise in the forwards (Jimi Naikadawa), express pace out wide (Metuisela Telabula) and a great playmaker in Nikola Matawalu. LutuMailagi and Nayacalevu round out a wonderful unit.

Fiji did not play badly in Tokyo. Their loss to England at the end of day one was played in cold, wet and windy conditions against a very well organised unit.

They had an epic quarter final battle with Samoa but lost by just 3 points.

Realistic chances: Fiji have everything they need to win in Glasgow but it’s very tough to know whether they will have the collective attitude to do so. The added pressure of the series points will either spark them to victory or add to the pressure. It’s a 50/50 call

3. South Africa

Paul Treu rallied extremely well after losing several key players to injury between Hong Kong including Player of the Year Cecil Afrika, his replacement Paul Delport and forwards Boom Prinsloo and Frankie Horne.

The Blitzbokke came in third in Hong Kong after beating Samoa in the semi-final. After losing most of their forward line in Tokyo, South Africa went on to lose the Plate final to Fiji 10-14.

Realistic chances: South Africa finished last season extremely well winning both the Scottish and English Sevens events. If their injured men are back, then South Africa have a very good chance of winning.

4. England

I had picked England to win in Hong Kong because I felt they were due. While they ended up in 4th place, they have been consistent. In Tokyo they finished 4th again.

Realistic chances: The difference between losing and winning a semi-final can be extremely narrow. England will have learned from the experiences in Asia and they have the team to go all the way. I’m going back to my Hong Kong prediction and say that England will win this one – they are due.

5. Samoa

After winning in Las Vegas, Samoa looked in devastating form in the early stages in Hong Kong but they fell short, losing their quarter final to South Africa after being 2 tries up in the first half.

Samoa regrouped very well in Tokyo to make it to the final, beating Fiji and New Zealand along the way.

In the final they met a very confident Australian side who were playing the rugby of their lives and Samoa just fell short by 2 points.

Realistic chances: With injuries to key players Lolo Lui, Uale Mai, Tom Iosefo, Afa Aionoand and Paul Perez only a 50/50 chance, Samoa could struggle.

If they are fit however, then Samoa are a genuine final contender.

6. Australia

The young Australian side are 6th in the series after their win in Tokyo. They were not really in contention this season until Hong Kong 2 weeks ago when they were pipped in the quarter finals by a 90 metre Dan Norton try in the last seconds of the game. Then 7 days later they won in Tokyo so momentum is definitely with Michael O’Connor’s men.

Australia have several exciting prospects in the back line, hard working forwards and a lot of self belief.

Realistic chances: Unlike some of the Pacific Nations, Australia will not struggle to get up twice in a row – they will be a serious contender at Scotstoun Stadium in a month’s time. I think they will make it to the semi-finals at least.

With the series won last week by New Zealand, there is only pride to play for at the final event of the 2010-2011 world sevens series in Edinburgh.

Some sides may choose to use their full squads to expose as many of their players as they can to international sevens at it’s best.

New Zealand coach Gordon Teitjens may do this.

There has been talk of this being Tomasi Cama’s last year and no doubt there will be some player turnover as New Zealand’s super rugby teams look to replenish their stocks from sevens ranks after the clean out that is happening there after the World Cup.

Australian coach Michael O’Connor may also use his full squad. He has had a lot of players come through the squad in the last 2 seasons – much more than any of the other top 6 sides and if the trend continues, O’Connor will want to ensure he has some continuity for nest season.

Samoa have been unable to replicate their winning form from last season without the services of star players Uale Mai, Lolu Lui and Mikaele Pesamino on a regular basis. Coach Stephen Betham may look to extend the confidence in his squad with more game time in Edinburgh as he searches for answers for next season.

I don’t believe Fiji will do this as they are establishing a new era with a new coach, new captain and several young players coming through. Also, as the national sport of the small island nation there is always a lot of expectation when they play.

England will definitely not be taking their foot off the pedal after their disappointing performance at their home tournament last week. They were still in the race 13 points behind New Zealand but blew it badly so they will be looking for a big showing in Edinburgh.

Ben Ryan’s men led the series early on, winning in Dubai and making the final in South Africa and New Zealand but with the win in Las Vehas and another last week, South Africa are now just 6 points behind them. So no chance Paul Treu will risk not playing his best side either.

1. Argentina v France
Second up are the 2 teams that denied England the chance of winning their own tournament on Day#1 at Twickenham

Argentina won when the 2 played each other in pool play, running out convincingly 28-15. But France had a great tournament, making the quarter finals for the first time in several years so they will take that confidence into Edinburgh.

Our pick: Argentina in a closer contest than last week

2. Russia v France
France will be favored to win this match but Russia are one of the fast improvers in the World Sevens Series.

Russia competed well with South Africa and drew with Portugal on Day#1 in England. They then beat Canada on Day#2 and narrowly lost to Kenya in the bowl final.

Russia have strength all over the field and pace out wide.

Our pick: Russia to pull off an upset

3. Spain v Portugal
Portugal are another one of the big improvers on the world series. They beat England and France in pool play in the first event of the season (Dubai) and took Fiji to within 3 points last week.

They also beat the USA on their way to the Shield final.

Spain are also on the rise.

They beat Kenya on Day#1 and then the USA last week in the Bowl quarter finals.

Our pick: Portugal in a nail-biter

4. Kenya v Canada
Canada are enjoying a solid run of form led by their brillant playmaker Phil Mack. They won the Bowl in Hong Kong beating Argentina, France and Wales on the way.

They beat Scotland 25-12 in pool play last week.

Kenya’s form has been up and down this season as they struggle to find consistency.

They beat England on their way to the Bowl final last week in London, which they lost to Scotland.

But Humphrey Kayenge leads from the front and his brother Collins Injera is due a big tournament.

Our pick: Kenya in another close match

South Africa’s performance in the final of the England Sevens at weekend was clinical.

They played as a team, executed a well thought out strategy and snuffed out the most exciting team in the tournament.

Opponents Fiji were at their brilliant best in their semi-final destruction of New Zealand.

They were the pick of the teams on Day#1 and carried their form into Day#2 where them beat Samoa in a tough but convincing quarter final.

Fiji had beaten South Africa in their final game on day one 12-7 but they were simply not given any time or space to play.

While they have several new players, South Africa have a wealth of experience in the forwards in Frankie Horne, Kyle Brown and Steven Hunt.

Branco du Preez and Cecil Afrika provide spark, creativity and penetration in the back line and are well supported with pace and strength on the outsides from Johannesburg Prinsloo and Bernardo Botha.

Coach Paul Treu is one of the most respected in the World Series and he certainly got it right at Twickenham. He also got it right in Las Vegas where South Africa won the tournamentand really kick-started their rise up the series rankings.

Their victory in London has given them 116 points and taken them within just 5 points of England (currently in second place) after their early exit from the Cup competition.

What will it take?
There are 24 points on offer to the winner of the Edinburgh Sevens. The runner up gets 20 and semi-finalists each take 16 points.

The Plate is worth 12 points. Coming second nets 8 and Plate semi-finalists each get 6.

The winner of the Bowl gets 4 points.

It is hard to see England fail 2 weeks in a row. You would bet the house on them bouncing back.

If England make the final, they will secure second place and so for South Africa to get ahead of Ben May’s men, they really need to knock the out in the semi-finals at the latest.

The way the pools are set in Edinburgh the 2 teams will not meet in the quarter finals. If things go better for England on Day#1 they will meet either New Zealand or Argentina in their quarter final while South Africa will play either Fiji or Samoa.

Last week showed that seedings mean nothing and that the competition between all teams is closing fast.

That said, of the top 6 teams it was only England who did not make it to the Quarter finals.

I think the following will happen

• England will bounce back to make it to at least the quarter finals
• None of the top 6 teams will take any of their opponents lightly regardless of who they play
• Fiji will learn from their final defeat and come back just as strong
• New Zealand will play better than they did in their semi-final against Fiji

Bottom Line – it will be even tougher for South Africa to win this week

Opposing coaches will have analyzed everything they did in that final and will have plotted counter-strategies.

South Africa will likely play either Fiji or Samoa in their quarter final and then New Zealand, Argentina or England in their semi – a very tough ask.

No disrespect to their great side – and their wonderful effort last weekend – but I do not believe they will overtake England this weekend.

The upsets started early with France beating Argentina 14-5 in the second match of the day.

Sometimes it’s hard to know whether Argentina will play well or not and they did not seem to like the early start.

Not to take anything away from the French, they deserved their win in an average match.

Wales over USA 19-10

Unfortunately for the Americans, their season’s best form was in the Australian leg where they made their first cup final at the Adelaide Sevens.

Key players Paul Emerick and Kevin Swiryn lined up for the USA but they were without key playmaker Nesi Malifa for the last 2 events of the series and seemed to miss him dearly. Also seemed to lack impetus off the bench that they have enjoyed in previous outings.

Scotland over Fiji 31-14

A historic win by a resurgent Scottish side. Fiji have been trying some new players and combinations in the last 2 events of the World Series and while they went quite well last week in London, they have not gone so well here in Edinburgh.

Canada over England 26-19

In a day of upsets, this was one of the biggest.

England had gone off the boil since their epic semi-final battle with Samoa in Hong Kong at the end of March.

They were the defending champions at their home tournament but were thumped by Australia last week in pool play before losing both matches on Day 2 to South Africa and New Zealand respectively  although their performance against the Kiwis was very good (NZ won the game in the dying seconds).

Nick Royle came back into the squad and performed well, scoring 2 tries but it was Canada’s Sean Duke who proved to be the hero on the day with 2 excellent tries.

The English defence was a bit flat and playmaker Phillip Mack took advantage with a quick tap penalty and pass out wide to Justin Mensah-Coker to score the winner.

The pass looked forward but was not called and Canada celebrated a historic win.

Scotland over the USA 33-12

Not so much of an upset for the tournament as Scotland are a different side to the one who have registered disappointing performances in the first 6 events of the season.

And this American team is a different one to the side that made the Cup final in Australia. On paper, they would have been favoured to go through from Pool D with Fiji but they ended day 1 without a win.

France beat Kenya 28-5

A humiliating result for Kenya. They would have fancied their chances of going through to the Cup quarter finals with Samoa from Pool A but like the Americans, they ended Day 2 without a win.

Argentina over Samoa 31-10

Argentina seem to have Samoa’s number – they are one of only 2 teams to have beaten them in the last 4 tournaments – and this was the second time in 2 weeks!

[They also beat them in South Africa at the quarter final stage of the George Sevens back in December]

I’ve said before that Argentina must be a hard team to play. They are very physical but have a nice balance of speed and skill to go with it.

Early on, the Argentinians appeared to have no answer to Samoa’s big men. Fa’asilivia and Otto were unstoppable in the first half.

Tuculet got them back into the match however with a good try under the posts after a promising attack led to a 5m scrum.

Tuculet then got his second try at the end of the 1st half to give the South Americans a 4 point advantage at the break 14-10.

They showed good composure in the second spell, scoring again in the second half. They got their 4th try when Lolo Lui got yellow carded for his second high shot of the match.

Del Busto got Argentina’s 5th try with a numbers advantage out wide on the right.

Argentina then had to hold on to their 21 point advantage i order to go through to the Sup quarter finals – which they did with some last ditch defence and a knock on by Lolo Lui in the last seconds of the match.

Scotland over Wales 33-21

Like their win over the United States, Scotland’s win over Wales was more an upset on season form rather than on the day.

Wales have been average since their World Cup win in 2008 but they have clawed their way back with some solid performances this season.

In contrast the Scottish have been poor this season – possibly the worst of the top 12 teams in the IRB World Sevens Series.

They were boosted with additional players in the London and Edinburgh legs however with excellent performances by John Houston and Roddy Grant in particular.

Andrew Turnbull had been the standout in an average team up until then so it was good that he got the support he has needed all season.

Scotland scored first but then Lee Rees kicked through and regathered to level the scores.

Roddy Grant showed good strength to fend the last defender and score to recover the lead for the Scots.

A nice delay of pass put Colin Shaw in down the left flank and then a Welsh yellow card saw Ben Cairns put things out of reach. A very good day by the home side to earn them a Cup quarter final against England.