In the Olympic qualifier, 18 teams will be contesting the two spots available for Oceania in the men's and women's competition. Photo: Oceania Rugby
The stage is set for the 2023 Oceania Rugby Sevens Championship in Brisbane, Australia this weekend.
The event, to be played at Ballmore, will see two different competitions running at the same time: with the Olympic qualification alongside an international pool of teams who have already qualified for Paris 2024.
The men's competition will see New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, Niue and an Oceania Selection playing against each other in the international division, while the women will feature New Zealand and Australia.
For the Olympic qualification, the two men's pools will see Samoa, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, American Samoa and Tuvalu in Pool A, while Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Nauru in Pool B.
The women's qualification competition has Fiji, Tonga, Cook Islands and American Samoa in Pool A while Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Nauru in Pool B.
In the Olympic qualifier, 18 teams will be contesting the two spots available for Oceania in the men's and women's competition.
Oceania Rugby has stated that only one of 10 men's sides will qualify for Paris 2024 while only one of eight women's teams will book their ticket to France next year.
Tonga and Samoa fight for spot
Pre-tournament favourites Tonga and Samoa are tipped to fight for the lone spot available.
But they will have Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands and the Solomon Islands to beat first.
Tonga men's coach Tevita Tuifua told Oceania Rugby it will be a tough tournament for them, but success would be a big boost for rugby in the Kingdom.
"We understand that the Oceania 7s will be a highly competitive tournament with strong teams vying for success. However, we believe in our squad's abilities, their work ethic, and the lessons learned from past challenges," Tuifua said.
"We are eager to bring our best to the competition and strive for success once again.
"It represents not only a chance to showcase our talent on the global stage but also a testament to the hard work and dedication of our players, support staff, Tonga Rugby Union, and government. It would be a source of inspiration for our entire nation."
Samoa men's head coach Brian Lima said they have a chance to qualify for the Olympics.
Samoa were in Fiji for a few weeks to train at the famous Sigatoka sand dunes and have some warm-up matches against the Fijian 7s squad and the French 7s team who were also training in Fiji.
"Although we were extremely disappointed that we missed out on automatic qualification, we are aware that the Oceania 7s is perhaps our best chance to qualify, with New Zealand, Fiji, and Australia having already qualified," Lima said.
"It is critical that we make use of this opportunity because, should we fail, the chances will be even more difficult, with South Africa, Great Britain, and Ireland also vying for the remaining spots in the final Olympic repechage next year."
Fijiana tipped to win
Meanwhile, Fiji are tipped to take out the women's Olympic qualifier.
The side has been a regular in the annual HSBC Sevens series and also competed at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.
Fijiana 7s coach Saiasi Fuli said they will be looking to gain some game time while trying to secure the Olympic spot.
"It's a massive opportunity for us as a team to prepare well and play in these upcoming Oceania 7s," Fuli told Oceania Rugby.
"We are into our preseason phase, and our girls are looking forward to playing in the Oceania 7s and trying to secure a spot for the Paris Olympics.
We missed out on the series until the final day in Toulouse, and we as a group had set our goal to rest well, recover, and prepare for the qualification."
All Pacific nations competing in the event will then head to Honiara after the event to take part in the 2023 Pacific Games.
Fiji and Samoa's men's teams and the Fijiana women's team will also travel to Dubai for the opening tournament of the 2023/2024 HSBC Sevens series.
Matches will kick off on 10 November at Ballymore with the finals scheduled for 12 November.
