2018-19 Rugby Sevens Series: Las Vegas Preview & Betting Tips

The Rugby 7s series continues this weekend as the teams travel to Las Vegas, USA. The action will take place at Sam Boyd Stadium from Saturday until Monday morning. The USA is the defending champion from 2018. Looking at the standings so far, New Zealand is now on equal points with the USA after success in Sydney. Fiji rounds out the top three as they sit just 4 points behind the leaders.

Las Vegas Rugby 7s Betting Tips

Pool A

After winning in Sydney, New Zealand get the benefit of a very easy group in Las Vegas. They won’t have much trouble finishing first as they face Spain, Canada and Samoa. Spain is the team to watch for second place. They performed well in Sydney with 2 wins during the group stage and while they struggled in the finals, they should be competitive against Canada and Samoa. In the end, New Zealand is unbackable in this Pool.

TIP: No Value Bet - New Zealand WIN

Pool B

The home side headlines Pool B and they’ll be looking to defend their 2018 Las Vegas title. They seem to set up at this venue in Rugby 7s and 2019 looks no different. In Sydney, they reached the final once again and they’ve now played in 4 straight losing Grand Finals. So I think this Las Vegas series may break that streak. Their toughest opponent in this Pool will be Argentina. The South Americans made the Las Vegas final last season and were unlucky to not progress in the group stages in Sydney. Kenya has fallen away in form compared to last year and France is an interesting side that could place 2nd. They made the 5th place final in Sydney and just went down to Australia by just 3 points.

TIP: No Value Bet - USA WIN

Pool C

This Pool is an open race between England and South Africa. As a result, they can’t be separated in the betting odds. England was back in form during the Sydney series as they took 3rd place with an impressive 19-17 win over Fiji. They also smashed South Africa in the Quarters, 26-5. South Africa haven’t been at their best since finishing 3rd in Cape Town and that should see England take out this Pool.

Pool D

Fiji’s winning streak in Rugby 7s was broken in Sydney and they’ll look to get back on track with a fairly easy Pool. They also enjoyed a good run at Las Vegas last season, finishing 3rd. Australia will likely finish behind them in the Pool. The two sides played out a close Quarter Final in Las Vegas and Fiji came away with a 22-17 win. Scotland went winless in Sydney and Wales may surprise Australia. But this is Fiji’s Pool to win.

TIP: No Value Bet - Fiji WIN

Prediction

On their home turf, USA is going to be a tough opponent in this series especially after they won the series in 2018 for the first time. However, a likely Quarterfinal matchup in 2019 against South Africa or England will not be easy. So I like the chances of Fiji taking out the 2019 event. If they finish first in Pool D, their opponent will either be Spain, Canada or Samoa. Which isn’t going to trouble this side. They’ve won this series on 3 occasions in history and went back to back in 2015/2016. So with a nice Pool group in 2019, that should see them back on top of Rugby 7s.