The Springbok Sevens team will face African rivals Kenya for the fourth time during pool play this season at the Los Angeles Sevens.
At the fifth tournament of the series, scheduled from 29 February to 1 March, Neil Powell’s men will also face off against Ireland and Canada for the first time in the current series, when they clash in Pool B.
Following the Australasian legs of the World Sevens series – which featured combined men’s and women’s events – the Los Angeles tournament will be a men-only affair, and will therefore revert to the format where the top two teams in each pool qualify for the quarter-finals.
Pool A and D will cross over, while the top two teams in Pool B and Pool C will meet in the last eight of the tournament.
Fiji, who narrowly beat the Blitzboks 12-10 in the Cup final at last weekend’s Sydney Sevens, will face France, Argentina and the invitational team, Korea, in Pool A.
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Current series leaders New Zealand will face competition from England, Wales and Spain in Pool D, while hosts the USA were drawn in Pool C with Samoa, Scotland and Australia.
The All Blacks Sevens lead the standings with 76 points, followed by South Africa (67), France (56), England (54), Fiji (53) and USA (47).
The Blitzboks are second to log-leaders New Zealand in the try-scoring stakes so far. The Kiwis have scored 90 compared to the Blitzboks’ 77 and the South Africans are followed by Fiji (73), England (64) and USA (63).
LA Sevens pools
Pool A: Fiji, Argentina, France, Korea
Pool B: South Africa, Ireland, Canada, Kenya
Pool C: USA, Australia, Scotland, Samoa
Pool D: England, New Zealand, Wales, Spain.
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Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
