Springbok Sevens to face hosts Australia in Series opener

Nov 7 • Blitz Bokke, General News, International, National, Sevens Rugby, Sevens World Series • 2728 Views • Comments Off on Springbok Sevens to face hosts Australia in Series opener

South Africa will play hosts, Australia, Japan and USA on the first day of the opening Round of the HSBC Sevens World Series on Australia’s Gold Coast, the International Rugby Board announced today.

The first ever World Series pool draw was carried out in London, the venue for the climax of the Series in May next year. The Gold Coast tournament takes place on 25-26 November at Skilled Park.

As defending World Series champions, New Zealand were automatically seeded first and placed top of Pool A for the opening round on the Gold Coast, while last season’s runners-up South Africa were seeded second and placed top of Pool B.

>From the remaining teams in the top band of eight, Samoa and England were drawn into Pools C and D respectively. Fiji, hosts Australia, Argentina and Wales were then drawn into Pools A, B, C and D respectively, meaning that New Zealand will face Fiji and Australia will take on South Africa in two of the most eye-catching matches on the first day of the new season.

The second band of teams drawn comprised the nations ranked from ninth to twelfth last season – Kenya, France, Scotland and USA – while the third band of teams was made up of the four regional qualifiers for the event – Japan, Tonga, PNG and Niue. In future, the pool draw for each Round of the HSBC Sevens World Series will take place live on television before the Cup final at the preceding event.

Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu said in reaction to the draw his team was looking forward to play at the brand new venue in Australia.

“Traditionally, we have played well in Australia when the tournament was staged in Adelaide where the firm underfoot conditions and the climate suited our style of play. The Gold Coast will be a new challenge for everyone, so we are looking forward to experience a new atmosphere and surroundings.

“With the new format of three opening Rounds instead of the usual two, our focus will be to make a steady start and not to concentrate on things beyond the opening Round,” explained Treu.

The full Blitzbokke squad got together for the first time last week in Stellenbosch. “Our preparations are on course and we are working hard to get the players ready for a tough three-week period,” added the SA Sevens coach.

Treu will name his travelling squad of twelve for the opening two Rounds this coming Friday and they travel to the Gold Coast on 18 February.

Round 1, HSBC Sevens World Series 2011/12 – Gold Coast, Australia

Pool A
New Zealand, Fiji, Kenya, Niue

Pool B
South Africa, Australia, USA, Japan

Pool C
Samoa, Argentina, France, PNG

Pool D
England, Wales, Scotland, Tonga

Pool B fixtures

South Africa vs. USA

South Africa vs. Japan

South Africa vs. Australia

Emerging SA safari ends in semi-final

Samoa eliminated the South African interest at the annual Safaricom Kenya Sevens in Nairobi over the weekend when they defeated the Emerging SA Sevens team 19-10 in their semi-final clash. The Emerging squad qualified for the last four with a 24-14 victory over Grenoble on Saturday.

Samoa, in Kenya in preparation for the upcoming HSBC Series season, were crowned the 2011 champions after beating Samurai 31-14 in the Cup Final before a large crowd at the Nyayo National Stadium.