By Tim Skepper
July 1 2002

With the new rugby season still weeks away, some of us have waited too long for a match and are already feeling the need to see some top-flight egg chasing live and in the flesh. For those people (myself included), the Commonwealth Games should come at just at the right time. As a fitting end to the 2002 Games, the Rugby 7’s have been given pride of place in the brand new City of Manchester Stadium from the 2nd-4th of August.

Most of the top 7’s countries in the world are set to appear, in fact Argentina are the only nation in the top 8 not to be represented in Manchester.

Thanks to England’s successful World Seven Series campaign, they have been seeded 3rd and, as hosts should avoid the All Blacks until the final. Having won the prestigious Hong Kong 7s tournament in March, England’s coach Joe Lydon should be feeling quietly confident.

Understandably though, the favourites for the gold medal are New Zealand. The defending Commonwealth champions have won 7 of the eleven tournaments this season and are expected to include sevens legend Eric Rush in their final squad.

Although Jonah Lomu is unlikely to make an appearance in Manchester, the All Blacks are not expected to be troubled on their way to the knock-out stages, having been grouped with Scotland, Canada (including ex-Tiger Winston Stanley) & the tiny Pacific island of Niue.

Wales have been drawn against South Africa, Tonga and Sri Lanka but should be able to qualify for the quarter finals, though it may only be as group runners-up.

Australia & Fiji are set to battle it out for the top spot in their group, with Malaysia and Trinidad & Tobago the outsiders that could provide an upset in Group D.

England are expected to field a few big names in their squad in a bid to win gold but probably won’t be tested too thoroughly until the Saturday evening session after they were drawn against the Cook Islands and Kenya. The Samoans should pose the biggest threat to English pride in the early stages of the competition.

With tickets priced from as little as £10 for each session, it is set to be an enjoyable weekend in the North West with a feast of rugby on display.

For those fans not able to travel to Manchester, the BBC are set to show many of the events either live or as highlights so everyone should be able to see England proving that Gold medals aren’t just won by female curlers and that Sevens once again deserves Olympic recognition.

Commonwealth Games Tickets can be purchased from Leicester Tourist Information Centre, 7-9 Every Street, Town Hall Square, Leicester, by phone on 0870 162 2002, or online at: http://m2002.ticketmaster.co.uk/