It may look as though Otago has been somewhat blessed for the national Sevens competition this weekend, but coach Mike Moeahu is having none of it.
A quick scan of the pools and one would think Otago has drawn the easiest of the four groups in Queenstown.
Certainly, it has defending champion Waikato in its line-up but it also has Heartland sides North Otago and Horowhenua-Kapiti to face today.
Compared to another pool which contains Bay of Plenty, Manawatu, Auckland and Canterbury, Otago, and indeed even North Otago, may seem to have an easier time.
Sevens, though, is not like the bigger version of the game, and Moeahu says the standard among all teams has increased markedly.
"There are no easy games in sevens. Every team is well drilled, fit and ready to go. Horowhenua-Kapiti went to the Singapore Sevens and did well, made the semifinals at least," he said.
"If we go along there expecting an easy game, then we'll get found out."
Otago has a new look to its side this year.
The likes of Paul Grant, Julius Glasson and Jeremy Cave are unavailable and in come youngsters Logan Moore, Matt Faddes and Simon Knight.
Moeahu has the advantage of playing more games this year, with three tournaments before Christmas, and then a four-day training camp at the start of the month. In previous years, sides from the south have always struggled through a lack of match play.
Grant is a big loss to the team and stood out last year with his ability to read the game and find the space.
But after three years of continuous rugby, he is having a break.
New Otago signings Buxton Popoali'i and Hanipale Galo will want to make an immediate impression in the blue and gold jersey and Popoali'i was deemed good enough to make the New Zealand sevens team a couple of years ago.
Otago made the top eight last year but had a disappointing second day when it ran out of puff.
North Otago is making its first appearance at the tournament for a few years and has looked promising in early season tournaments, including an upset win over Otago.
But the competition is inevitably dominated by teams from the North Island which benefit from intense competition over the past couple of months.
Waikato is always hard to bowl but has lost the likes of Tim Mikkelson and Save Tokulo from last year and may be hard pressed to repeat its victory.
Bay of Plenty won an invitational tournament last weekend in Mt Maunganui and have a nice balance to its side with Ruki Tipuna a talented playmaker and Solomon King and Jason Hona proving plenty of grunt up front.
Auckland will be hard to bowl with former Manawatu player Hadleigh Parkes and former Otago player Ed Coker in the side.
Manawatu has lost two key players with Tomasi Cama and Lote Raikabula returning to Fiji after Raikabula's cousin drowned at a Wellington beach earlier this week.
Canterbury returns to the tournament after missing last year because of financial pressures. It has never matched its success in the the larger version of the game in sevens and will look to Sam Monaghan and Patrick Osborne to provide the speed to score tries.
But being in such a tough group has not done the red and blacks any favours.
Southland, which has never performed well at this tournament, will not field a side as it decided against travelling to the qualifying tournament in Timaru early last month because of economic difficulties.
Organisers will have their fingers crossed for fine weather after rain ruined finals day last year.
NATIONAL SEVENS
- Pools, schedule
• Pool A: Waikato, Otago, Horowhenua-Kapiti, North Otago
• Pool B: Bay of Plenty, Manawatu, Auckland, Canterbury
• Pool C: Counties-Manukau, Hawkes Bay, Wellington, South Canterbury
• Pool D: Taranaki, North Harbour, Tasman, Northland.
FIRST-DAY GAMES
• Otago: v Horowhenua-Kapiti, 1.10pm; v North Otago, 3.50pm; v Waikato, 6.50pm
• North Otago: v Waikato, 1.30pm; v Horowhenua-Kapiti, 6.30pm; Games today start at 11.10am, tomorrow from 10.05am.
