Australia to Finalise Preparations at Oceania Sevens Championships
Australian Sevens star Luke Morahan says world champions Samoa are the team to beat at the 2010 Oceania Sevens Championships but Australia are a good chance of causing an upset at Austar Rugby Park in Darwin this weekend.
The Queensland Reds winger says he’ll use Friday’s pool matches against Tonga, the Cook Islands and Vanuatu to get reacquainted with the shortened version of the game in which he was a star in 2009 and by Saturday’s finals he expects to hit his strides.
Teammate, Qantas Wallabies winger Lachie Turner is in a similar situation and will use the two-day Darwin event to hone his skills ahead of the Commonwealth Games on 11-12 October.
“Samoa are the World Series champions and they’re pretty tough to beat. They’ve got a lot of all rounders and are a pretty experienced team which boasts the likes of (IRB Sevens player of the year) Mikaele Pesamino,” Morahan said
“Back when I played Sevens last year, we never beat them and this year the boys came close, but didn’t get away with a win.
“A few of us are getting back into Sevens and hopefully we’ll find form pretty quickly and be ready to take on Samoa on Saturday in the finals.
“Putting in a good performance this weekend will definitely serve us well in Delhi.”
Coach Michael O’Connor has named an experienced 12-man squad for this weekend’s event which includes four members of this year’s London Sevens winning team in Jesse Parahi, Ed Jenkins, James Stannard and Nic Phipps.
Former Australian Schoolboys star Jason Seage, 18, will make his Australian Sevens debut while U20s representatives Kimami Sitauti, Liam Gill and Robbie Coleman return to the mix after missing the back end of the IRB Series to compete at the Junior World Championships in Argentina.
The Australian squad has a chance to create history if they can finish with gold or silver at the Commonwealth Games as Australia has not medalled since securing bronze in 1998 when Rugby Sevens was first granted entry in Kuala Lumpur.
Australia: Patrick McCutcheon (capt), Jesse Parahi, Ed Jenkins, Luke Morahan, Kimami Sitauti, Jason Seage, Liam Gill, Robbie Coleman, Nic Phipps, James Stannard, Shaun Foley, Lachie Turner.
POOL A | POOL B |
Samoa | Australia |
Papua New Guinea | Tonga |
Niue | Cook Islands |
Tahiti | Vanuatu |
Updated draw below.
2010 Oceania Sevens Championship Tournament Schedule Friday 1 and Saturday 2 October 2010 | |||||
DAY 1 – FRIDAY 1 OCTOBER 2010 | |||||
Match | Home |
| Away | Venue | Kick-off |
Round 1 | |||||
Match 1 | Samoa | v | Papua New Guinea | Auststar Rugby Park | 4:30pm |
Match 2 | Australia | v | Tonga | Auststar Rugby Park | 4:52pm |
Match 3 | Niue | v | Tahiti | Auststar Rugby Park | 5:14pm |
Match 4 | Cook Islands | v | Vanuatu | Auststar Rugby Park | 5:36pm |
Match 5 | Northern Territory RU team | v | Northern Territory RU team | Auststar Rugby Park | 5:58pm |
Match 6 | Papua New Guinea | v | Niue | Auststar Rugby Park | 6:20pm |
Match 7 | Tonga | v | Cook Islands | Auststar Rugby Park | 6:42pm |
Match 8 | Tahiti | v | Samoa | Auststar Rugby Park | 7:04pm |
Match 9 | Vanuatu | v | Australia | Auststar Rugby Park | 7:26pm |
Match 10 | Northern Territory RU team | v | Northern Territory RU team | Auststar Rugby Park | 7:48pm |
Match 11 | Samoa | v | Niue | Auststar Rugby Park | 8:10pm |
Match 12 | Australia | v | Cook Islands | Auststar Rugby Park | 8:32pm |
Match 13 | Tahiti | v | Papua New Guinea | Auststar Rugby Park | 8:54pm |
Match 14 | Vanuatu | v | Tonga | Auststar Rugby Park | 9:16pm |
DAY 2 – SATURDAY 2 OCTOBER 2010 | |||||
Match | Home |
| Away | Venue | Kick-off |
Round 2 | |||||
Match A | 1st Pool 1 | v | 4th Pool 2 | Auststar Rugby Park | 4:30pm |
Match B | 2nd Pool 1 | v | 3rd Pool 2 | Auststar Rugby Park | 4:52pm |
Match C | 3rd Pool 1 | v | 2nd Pool 2 | Auststar Rugby Park | 5:14pm |
Match D | 4th Pool 1 | v | 1st Pool 2 | Auststar Rugby Park | 5:36pm |
Match E | Northern Territory RU team | v | Northern Territory RU team | Auststar Rugby Park | 5:58pm |
Round 3 | |||||
Match F | Loser Match A | v | Loser Match B | Auststar Rugby Park | 6:20pm |
Match G | Loser Match C | v | Loser Match D | Auststar Rugby Park | 6:42pm |
Match H | Winner Match A | v | Winner Match B | Auststar Rugby Park | 7:04pm |
Match I | Winner Match C | v | Winner Match D | Auststar Rugby Park | 7:26pm |
Match J | Northern Territory RU team | v | Northern Territory RU team | Auststar Rugby Park | 7:48pm |
Finals | |||||
7th/8th Playoff | Loser Match F | v | Loser Match G | Auststar Rugby Park | 8:10pm |
5th/6th Playoff | Winner Match F | v | Winner Match G | Auststar Rugby Park | 8:32pm |
3rd/4th Playoff | Loser Match H | v | Loser Match I | Auststar Rugby Park | 8:54pm |
FINAL | Winner Match H | v | Winner Match 1 | Auststar Rugby Park | 9:16pm |
For further information please contact ARU Media Operations Coordinator, Samantha Broun:
Samantha Broun| Media Operations Coordinator |Australian Rugby Union
ARU Headquarters, Ground Floor, 29-57 Christie St, St Leonards NSW 2065
T:+61 2 8005 5621 |M:+61 405 143 258 |F:+61 2 8005 5682
E:samantha.broun@rugby.com.auW:www.rugby.com.au