Olympic Rugby 7s Women’s Betting Odds, Picks, and Schedule
By Robert Duff in Rugby
Updated: July 30, 2021 at 6:40 am EDTPublished:
- New Zealand are -300 favorites to win the gold medal in Olympic women’s rugby 7s at the Tokyo Summer Games
- Australia defeated New Zealand in the gold medal match at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games
- That was the first time rugby 7s was included as an Olympic medal sport
Rugby 7s takes the fast and the furious down off the big screen and puts it out on the pitch. It’s the fastest game on two feet. Both men’s and women’s rugby 7s were included as part of the Summer Olympic Games program for the first time at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
In an all-Down Under gold medal showdown, Australia got the better of New Zealand by a 24-17 count. Since then, it’s the New Zealanders who have risen to the #1 world ranking.
They will carry an overwhelming -300 betting line as the odds-on favorite to win the gold medal in Tokyo. Australia (+600) and Canada (+1000), the bronze medal winner in Rio, are other top contenders.
Olympic Women’s Rugby 7s Odds
| Country | Odds |
|---|---|
| New Zealand | -300 |
| Australia | +600 |
| Canada | +1000 |
| USA | +1000 |
| France | +1200 |
| Great Britain | +1600 |
| Russian OC | +3500 |
| Fiji | +6500 |
| Japan | +20000 |
| China | +25000 |
| Brazil | +25000 |
| Kenya | +25000 |
Odds as of July 25th at DraftKings.
It’s truly a wide-open field. A case can also be made for the USA (+1000) as a legit contender. France (+1200) needed the utilize the repechage to qualify but are always dangerous. Great Britain (+1600) finished fourth in Rio. Fiji’s women (+6500) might not carry the same clout as the country’s gold medal-winning men’s side but to overlook the Fijians is always foolhardy.
[crosspBlack Ferns Seek To Be Golden
New Zealand have captured gold medals at every major tournament except one. That would be the Olympics. they’ll be seeking to rectify that situation in Tokyo.
Portia Woodman is your Women's Sevens Player of the Decade pic.twitter.com/bp44ca3t4V
— Ultimate Rugby (@ultimaterugby) December 7, 2020
The Black Ferns Sevens are led by Portia Woodman. Whatever type of rugby is need of playing, she’ll play it better than anyone. She’s the only person in rugby to have been named Player of the Year and Player of the Decade in both seven and 15-aside rugby.
New Zealand won international seven-aside events in Sydney, Hamilton, Cape Town, and Dubai last year. As well, the Black Ferns also finished atop the standings in both the 2019 and 2017 Sevens Series.
Australians Looking to Recoup
Australia hasn’t been able to keep pace with New Zealand post-Rio, but they shouldn’t be counted out. Like Woodman, Shannon Parry and Sharni Williams have played starring roles for the Aussies at both seven and 15-aside Rugby World Cups.
☀️ Soaking up the sun in #Tokyo2020 #TokyoTogether #Aussie7s pic.twitter.com/QfNMXzSYp6
— Australia Sevens (@Aussie7s) July 22, 2021
They’ll be counted on heavily to lead a mostly inexperienced side in Tokyo. Charlotte Caslick is the most dangerous player in the side with the ball in her hands. A newcomer to watch will be two-sport star Maddison Levi. She’s put her Aussie Rules career on hold to pursue Olympic rugby gold.
Canadian Content
Canadian finished second in a trio of HSBC Sevens Series in 2019. However, in all three finals, Canada was upended by New Zealand.
Ghislaine Landry, Bianca Farella power #CAN to bronze in rugby sevens over #GBR. https://t.co/2jpCRfY0jo pic.twitter.com/5GHqOQRAyP
— theScore (@theScore) August 8, 2016
Ghislaine Landry is the Canadian version of Woodman, simply the most outstanding rugby player Canada has ever produced. She’s the all-time leading point scorer in the Women’s Rugby Sevens World Series. With 1,356 points, she has 340 more than second-place player Tyla Nathan-Wong of New Zealand.
Bianca Farella is Canada’s all-time try-scoring leader with 153. Since Rio, Canada has won two international 7s tournaments. The Canadians have also won six silver medals and seven bronze medals.
American Eagles Soaring
The USA Women’s Eagles arrive in Tokyo as the #4 seed in the tournament. During the 2019 season, the US women collected five medals from six international sevens tournaments.
Congratulations to the PRSevens Ambassadors Naya Tapper, Abby Gustatis, Ilona Maher, and Alev Kelter officially headed to Tokyo! 🏅 We could not be more excited for you and proud that you represent the US! 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/DJS70lejXf
— Premier Rugby Sevens (@prsevens) June 21, 2021
The total included the country’s first-ever gold medal. There was also a silver and three bronze among the collection. The Americans were the only side to make all six semifinals. They’re led by team captain Alev Kelter, the country’s all-time scoring leader.
Pick: New Zealand (-300).
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
