New Zealand aim to continue perfect season in London

Could this be the perfect season for New Zealand? Could they win each tournament, win the series, qualify for the Olympics, go unbeaten and leave their mark in rugby history? 

With round five of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series getting underway on Friday, the reigning champions will certainly hope so.

But despite the incredible winning streak, the Kiwis haven’t always made it easy for themselves this season. A tense final against Australia in round one in Dubai was rescued from the jaws of defeat by captain Sarah Goss when she scored a try in the dying seconds of a thrilling encounter. They’ve also survived scares in quarter-finals and semis along the way. Hence, Goss thinks they still have a lot to work on.

“We set really high standards for ourselves and at this tournament we want to make a statement. We want to take it each game at a time and we want to be really physical and bring in our strike players out wide but then work hard in the middle. If we can do that we’ll be happy.”

The Kiwis will cement their place at next year’s Olympic Games if they qualify out of Pool A in London this weekend, and will have to beat France, Brazil and Spain. But Goss thinks the hosts will have something to offer on home soil, if the teams meet in the knockout stages.

“If we get to play England in London it will be a hell of a match. They always play well at home in 15s and to play against them in sevens here would be awesome,” added Goss.

Olympic qualification is straightforward for New Zealand but not so clear-cut for the others in the chasing group. With the top four at the end of the series progressing to Rio 2016, Canada, Australia and France still have work to do to realise their Olympic dreams.

This particularly applies to Australia, who went toe-to-toe with New Zealand last season and were unlucky to lose to their rivals in both Dubai and São Paulo this season. But their series hit a speedbump in Atlanta with a fifth-place finish and nearly went off a cliff in Canada, as they finished down the pecking order.

“We went back home and really had a look in the mirror after Canada,” said captain Sharni Williams.

“I think it comes down to the process and thinking game by game. It also comes down to the girls thinking about their own job. I’ve all the faith in the girls and we can definitely go out there, be relaxed, and play our Aussie footy.” 

While many teams left Canada after the last round in good spirits after a fantastic tournament, the Canadian women’s team were left licking their wounds after a less than stellar performance. Despite going unbeaten on day one, John Tait’s charges were beaten in their Cup quarter-final by England and then suffered defeat by their neighbours and long-time rivals USA, in front of their home crowd in the Plate final.

Captain Jen Kish, who’s returning from injury to lead her team, knows there is a lot to do in The Stoop this weekend.

“It was tough sitting out the last round but it’s great to be back. We didn’t get the results we wanted but it was a learning experience. One of our things this weekend will be about managing our energy and sticking within our roles and letting our teamwork do the work.”

Canada have a tough group on day one with both England and Russia in the mix, along with a physical South African side. 

“We have a tough pool but we’re happy about it. You want to start strong and end strong and we’re excited to play these top quality teams. England are playing on home soil … and you almost wonder will they be battling with their energy management like we were.”

England were having a mixed season until the last round in Canada, when they exploded out of the blocks, beating hosts Canada and fronting up to New Zealand in a fantastic Cup semi-final in Langford.

So, could this weekend be the best opportunity for Abi Chamberlain and her team to win a tournament?

“We’re always excited leading into tournaments and even more so because it’s a home tournament.

“Everything’s coming together and we’ve taken our time to get things right. We want to play comfortable rugby and play consistent, high-class rugby. We want to be top four. We need to put two great performances in over the next two weekends. It’s as simple as that.”

The action gets underway from The Stoop in London, the home of English Premiership side Harlequins, this Friday at midday (BST). All the action will be streamed live on worldrugby.org with some geo-blocking applying. For more on where you can watch the matches from round five of the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, click here.

After London, the final round of the series will take place in Amsterdam next weekend, where the series champion will be crowned and the Olympic qualifiers will be finally confirmed.