All Blacks legend D.J. Forbes excited by the Hong Kong Sevens’ ‘group of death’
- New Zealand, Fiji, Australia and Kenya will square off in pool C
- Americans a ‘sleeping giant’ that has now awoken, veteran says
New Zealand (second in the series standings with 106 points), Fiji (third with 101), Australia (sixth with 65) and Kenya (14th with 18) make for an incredibly compelling “group of death”.
The fact that Kenya made the final last year, losing to Fiji, means no team in this bloodbath of a pool should be counted out, and some vicious group games could deplete these top-tier squads heading into the knockout stage.
All Blacks legend DJ Forbes, who played in 11 Hong Kong Sevens tournaments dating back to 2006, said pool C presents some interesting opportunities, and fears, for other teams outside that group.
“There are some other countries who must be licking their lips,” said Forbes, who is in town as an ambassador for AIG. “It lets a few teams really think about going deep into the tournament that might not normally, and it also gives them more incentive to be on their games during the group stages when it comes to seeding.”
The biggest benefactors of the “group of death” looks to be pool A (South Africa, Samoa, Scotland and Japan) and pool D (US, England, Wales and Spain) who will not play anyone from pool C until the semi-finals.
