Following a disappointing fifth-place finish in the Dubai leg, the Blitzboks hope to offer an improved showing in front of their home crowd this weekend at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town.
They will have to do it the hard way, though, as they were drawn in a pool with Dubai champions New Zealand, Fiji, and Great Britain.
The three pool games are scheduled to take place on Saturday at 12h44 against Fiji, 16h00 against New Zealand, and 19h40 against Great Britain.
South Africa lifted the title last year, beating France in the final, to win the Cape Town leg for only the second time ever, ending a nine-year drought after winning the inaugural tournament in 2015.
The Blitzboks will hope to replicate this; however, they are sweating on the fitness of two key players – Selvyn Davids and Ryan Oosthuizen. Both players failed to finish last weekend’s Dubai tournament.
A total of 24 games are on the roster for Saturday, after which the top two teams from each pool will progress to the semi-finals on Sunday – while the other teams will contest the minor placings.
The two finals on Sunday are scheduled for 4:10 pm (women) and 4:43 pm (men).
Cape Town Sevens pools
Men
A: South Africa, New Zealand, Fiji, Great Britain
B: Australia, Argentina, France, Spain
Women
A: New Zealand, Fiji, Great Britain, USA
B: Australia, Canada, France, Japan
Blitzboks’ pool fixtures – Saturday, 6 December
vs Fiji, 12:44pm
vs New Zealand, 4pm
vs Great Britain, 7:41pm
