The top two teams in the HSBC World Sevens Series are seldom paired in the same pool — but that is the situation in Vancouver this weekend. Series leaders SA are drawn in pool D‚ which could stand for the "pool of death". SA are paired with New Zealand in the sixth leg of the championship. The Kiwis are second on the overall standings‚ 10 points behind the Blitzboks. With the unpredictable but occasionally superb Scotland thrown into the mix‚ escape from the group stages is far from a formality. Russia are the fourth team‚ and the margin of victory over the minnows could play a crucial role in the overall points difference in the series. If either New Zealand or SA fail to qualify for the quarterfinals‚ it could have huge ramifications for the series race. As always, the Blitzboks’s only focus is on emerging from the pool in first or second place to ensure quarterfinal qualification before attention shifts to overall glory in Vancouver. With an injury-depleted squad‚ players such as...
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