Canada performed well enough at the Cape Town Sevens to enter Sydney as the top seeds in their pool but it’s fair to say the draw has not been kind. Joining them in arguably the toughest bracket of the tournament, Pool D, are North American rivals USA, 6th-ranked Australia, and inconsistent but troublesome Scotland.
Argentina, meanwhile, have been drawn in the favorable Pool B along with France, Wales, and Kenya. The French are the highest ranked of their opponents but if the Pumas perform anywhere near as well as they did in Cape Town they should be near certainties for the Cup Quarter Finals.
Cape Town champions and new overall leaders New Zealand headline Pool A with fellow Pacific Island nations Fiji and Samoa also present and Russia round out the group. Pool C consists of defending HSBC Sevens Series champions South Africa, England, Spain, and invitational team Papua New Guinea.