AUSTRALIA and South Africa will struggle to pose a credible challenge at next year's Hong Kong Sevens, being affected by the Super 12s tournament which announced its draw for the inaugural 1996 season yesterday.
Ten of the 12 teams in the Rugby Super 12s tournament - involving state, regional and provincial sides from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa respectively - will be involved in games during the Hong Kong Sevens weekend next year.
Although four New Zealand regional sides - Canterbury, Otago, Wellington and Waikato - will be playing on March 29 and 30 (the Hong Kong Sevens will be held from March 29 to 31), the New Zealand Rugby Football Union has already informed sevens coach Gordon Tietjens that he will have priority in picking players for the Hong Kong Sevens.
A similar scenario is unlikely to happen in Australia (where ACT, NSW and Queensland will be in action) and South Africa (Natal, Transvaal and Western Province) where players are expected to first honour their commitments to the Rupert Murdoch-backed competition.
Kiwi Tietjens, in an interview with Sports Post earlier this year, revealed that he would be able to have a free hand in picking his sevens squad.
'The national sevens squad gets priority. Already Jonah Lomu, Glen Osborne and Eric Rush are committed to playing at the Hong Kong Sevens next year,' said Tietjens.