Friday 12 May 2017 10:23, UK
South Africa take to the Stade Jean-Bouin pitch in Paris this weekend in the knowledge that they could break Olympic champions Fiji's hold on the World Rugby Sevens Series title.
Fiji have been crowned champions over the last two seasons, but go into the ninth and penultimate round of the series 25 points behind the Blitzbokke.
With 22 points on offer for tournament winners, the scenario realistically means Fiji have to target wins in Paris and series-ender London, on May 20-21, and South Africa fail to make the knockout rounds.
Added spice comes from the fact that the two sides could meet in the quarter-finals in the French capital, where Samoa were winners last season.
"The anticipation of the Olympics was something different to the situation that we find ourselves in now," acknowledged Blitzbokke forward Tim Agaba.
"We are very mindful of our own processes and systems and what the job at hand is. There is no sense in getting ahead of ourselves.
"We will be focusing on what we need to do, game for game and tournament after tournament. We are treating all tournaments the same, getting back to the basics every time and start from there. The results then tend to look after themselves."
Blitzboks will face Scotland, Japan and Canada in pool A, while Fiji were drawn with Australia, Samoa and Russia in pool D and are boosted by the return of playmaker Rosko Specman.
England are third in the world series standings, two points behind Fiji, and pushing for a second-place finish to make it their most successful season since 2006.
This weekend , they play Spain, France and Kenya in Pool C at the Stade Jean Bouin.
"We set high standards for our performances and were disappointed to see a dip in the last two tournaments, having otherwise made good improvements in our style of play across the season," England head coach Simon Amor told Englandrugby.com.
"Finishing second in the series would be a great achievement but our focus is 100% on our first game against Spain in Paris."
New Zealand touch down in Paris in the unusual position of having no tournament wins to their name this season.
A raft of injuries has seen All Black hopes repeatedly hit in the high-octane abbreviated game of rugby, but coach Scott Waldrom welcomes back experienced heads Joe Webber, Lewis Ormond and Sam Dickson for Paris.
The All Blacks Sevens are currently fourth in the standings.
Pools
Pool A: Canada, South Africa, Scotland, Japan
Pool B: United States, New Zealand, Wales, Argentina
Pool C: England, Kenya, France, Spain
Pool D: Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Russia
Standings
1. South Africa 157 points
2. Fiji 132
3. England 130
4. New Zealand 110
5. USA 101
6. Australia 94
7. Canada 76
8. Argentina 72
9. Scotland 68
10. Wales 61
