Cape Town – The pools for the Paris Sevens tournament have been drawn and present some interesting permutations, particularly for the Blitzbokke.
Thanks to Kenya’s unexpected victory over Fiji in the cup final of the Singapore Sevens, the Blitzbokke are still in the running for the overall World Rugby Sevens Series title.
SA has been drawn in Pool C, alongside Australia, England and Brazil. It won’t be a walk in the park for Blitzbok coach Neil Powell and his charges, but on their day they can beat any side in the tournament.
The Paris leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series is the ninth and penultimate of the circuit and runs from May 13-15. It presents a real opportunity for the Blitzbokke (139 points) to catch up to Fiji (147 points) on the leaderboard.
New Zealand is in third place overall with 135 points, after being defeated by SA in the Singapore Sevens cup quarterfinals.
Singapore Sevens winners Kenya have been drawn in Pool A, with New Zealand, Portugal and Russia. Pool B has Fiji, Samoa, Scotland and Wales facing off against each other.
Things don’t get any easier in Pool D, where Argentina, hosts France, USA and Canada have to battle it out to reach the playoffs at the Paris Sevens.
London will play host to the next leg, from May 21-22 at Twickenham. It is the tenth and final round of the World Rugby Sevens Series 2015-16. – African News Agency (ANA)