Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens captain Ed Jenkins reflected on his side’s tour of Asia and is excited at what lay in store for the final two rounds of the 2013/14 HSBC Sevens World Series season.
The Aussies finished fifth in Tokyo after winning the Plate Final and fourth in Hong Kong at the weekend, results that leave the team entrenched in fifth in the overall standings.
“We traditionally do well in the last two events of the season in Glasgow and London and it feels like we’re building a bit of momentum. We’re playing a slightly different style of footy at the moment which allows us to be a bit more adaptable. We made a few too many mistakes against Fiji and that is something we’ll have to look to improve.
“We’ll gain a lot of experience from the past two events in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Many of our new players wouldn’t have played in anything like the sort of atmosphere that was created in Hong Kong so it was a great learning curve for them. For me, Hong Kong is the biggest tournament and everyone loved it. Beating the number one side [at the time] South Africa was a highlight and took a big effort from the team.”
Jenkins was handed his shirt by Australian Rugby Union CEO Bill Pulver after the forward won his 29th cap for his country – level with Peter Miller.
“We’ve had great support from the ARU in recent times and it was an honour to be handed by jersey by Mr Pulver. Bill is a huge fan of Sevens and it was fantastic to see him here in Hong Kong.”
Hong Kong was also notable for two other milestones. Winger Greg Jeloudev was named in the Hong Kong Sevens Dream Team, while centre Cameron Clark passed 300 career points.
The draw has also been made for the eighth – and penultimate – leg of the 2013/14 HSBC Sevens World Series in Glasgow. Taking place on the 3-4 May, Australia has been drawn in Pool B alongside the United States, hosts Scotland and Spain.
