Sevens preview: Make it a double
The Blitzbokke will be aiming for two different doubles at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth this weekend.
Having won in Dubai last week and at home a year ago, Neil Powell's team have a rare chance to double up on two fronts and if they do it will see them move to the top of the Sevens World Series standings.
However, they will face some stiff competition, not least of all from New Zealand who have made a slow start this season and have a great record in South Africa.
Fiji top the standings, with a slender two-point lead over South Africa who are ahead of third-placed Australia by eight points.
The Australians have made a promising start to the season, and captain Ed Kenkins knows how important it is for them to capitalise on their momentum.
“We had a pretty shaky start to our own tournament on the Gold Coast but we’ve trained really hard for the last eight weeks and set a goal to try and win the next two tournaments,” Jenkins said.
Geraint John's charges came up a win short of that goal at the Dubai Sevens, and although pleased to reach the Cup final, Jenkins was left ruing his sides missed opportunities.
“A forward pass from Cameron Clark, who usually doesn’t make those mistakes, Pama Fou’s intercept chance, Sam Myers got held up over the line, there was a few turning points in the game but you have got to take those opportunities when you get them.
“Just looking at the points table it is so close between the top six or so sides, there’s not many points splitting them so this weekend is going to be huge for us,” he said.
Whilst it is still early days in Round Three, there is still the carrot of Olympic qualification at the end of the season, although none of the players will admit to looking that far ahead.
“If we get the process right, Olympic qualification will take care of itself. All we are focused on here is our pool games and the South African tournament,” said New Zealand skipper DJ Forbes.
Pool A: South Africa, USA, Wales, Kenya
Pool B: Australia, Argentina, Portugal, Zimbabwe
Pool C: Fiji, Scotland, France, Canada
Pool D: New Zealand, Samoa, England, Japan
Day One schedule - Saturday, December 13:
(Kick-off is local time)
Match 1: Fiji v France - 11.58
Match 2: England v Japan - 12.20
Match 3: South Africa v USA - 12.42
Match 4: Wales v Kenya - 13.04
Match 5: Fiji v Canada - 13.46
Match 6: Scotland v France - 14.08
Match 7: Australia v Zimbabwe - 14.30
Match 8: Argentina v Portugal - 14.32
Match 9: New Zealand v Japan - 15.14
Match 10: England v Samoa - 15.36
Match 11: South Africa v Kenya - 15.58
Match 12: Wales v USA - 16.20
Match 13: France v Canada - 17.04
Match 14: Fiji v Scotland - 17.26
Match 15: Portugal v Zimbabwe - 17.48
Match 16: Australia v Argentina - 18.10
Match 17: Samoa v Japan - 18.52
Match 18: New Zealand v England - 19.14
Match 19: USA v Kenya - 19.36
Match 20: South Africa v Wales - 19.58