World Rugby has confirmed the pool draw for the Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens, round three of the HSBC Sevens World Series 2014/15 to be played on 13 and 14 December 2014.
After their impressive Cup win at the second round of the Series in Dubai on Saturday, hosts South Africa are top seeds and head Pool A, while runners-up Australia, third-placed Fiji and the fourth semi-finalist New Zealand head the remaining pools.
The 2014/15 season carries added significance because the top-ranked sides after the ninth and final round in London in May 2015 will qualify directly for the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016.
Following the pool draw for Round 3 of the Series, which was made in Dubai, the Springbok Sevens head Pool A in Port Elizabeth and their opponents are Wales, the USA and Kenya. Dubai runners-up Australia will face Argentina, as well as Portugal and Zimbabwe in Pool B.
Series leaders Fiji top Pool C as the third-placed team in Dubai and face Scotland, France and Dubai Shield winners Canada. New Zealand, the reigning Series champions, will play England, Samoa and Japan.
The 16 teams, including South African, arrive on Monday in Port Elizabeth at approximately 20h30. Tickets for the Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens are available from Computicket.
South Africa are now second on the log after their Dubai win.
Top Five World Ranking:
- Fiji 7s – 39
- South Africa 7s – 37
- Australia 7s – 29
- New Zealand 7s – 28
- Samoa 7s – 27
The tournament starts on Saturday 13 December at 10:30 am in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium with the first match between Fiji and France.
South Africa’s Pool stage matches are:
- At 12:42 – South Africa vs USA (currently in 11th place)
- At 15:58 – South Africa vs Kenya (currently in 14th place and coached by former Blitzbokke Coach Paul Treu*)
- At 19:58 – South Africa va Wales (currently in 11th place)
And then we are quietly optimistic that the Blitzbokke will advance to one of the Cup Semi Finals which take place at 16:39 and 17:01, followed by advancing to the Final with kickoff at 19:30 on 14 December 2014.
*Paul Treu has ties to Port Elizabeth in that he completed his Masters in Educational Psychology at NMMU amd played for the Mighty Elephants in 2002 and 2003.
Alan Straton
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