Preview: Dubai Sevens
Rugby, in the abbreviated Sevens format, makes its return to the Olympics in Rio in August next year – where the inventive, muscular and fleet-footed Fijians will be amongst the hot favourites for the gold.
"It's really an exciting season when you have the Olympics in the background," said Fiji captain Osea Kolinisau, conscious of the fact that his country has never won a medal at the Olympics.
Last season, Fiji, coached by Englishman Ben Ryan, finished 10 points ahead of South Africa.
They won four rounds of the global series, making sure of their place in the Olympics in the process.
In Dubai, the first of 10 rounds which concludes in London in May, Fiji have been drawn in Pool A along with Argentina, Canada and Japan.
"When you are defending champions, there is always pressure," 30-year-old Kolinisau said.
"Everybody tries to knock you off your pedestal. Training has been hard in the build up to Dubai as we know it's always hard to defend a title.
"We have beefed up a lot of our training and most players have put on a bit of weight. We know that a lot of teams are gunning for us and for the series."
Fiji certainly raised the standards in their title-winning season – they scored more tries on average than any other team at 4.5 tries per match, or one every 44 seconds of possession.
They also managed to win the 2014/2015 crown without losing a single match in pool play.
Pool B in the United Arab Emirates is made up of defending Dubai champions South Africa, Scotland, Samoa and Russia.
New Zealand are in Pool C alongside the United States, France and Portugal while England, Wales, Australia and Kenya will fight out Pool D.
South Africa have named 35-cap Springbok Francois Hougaard and Juan de Jongh for the first two legs in Dubai and home soil in Cape Town next week.
Western Province centre and captain De Jongh is back in the Sevens squad for the first time in seven years.
The All Blacks were third overall last time out and long-serving coach Gordon Tietjens has selected 14 players with Chiefs scrumhalf Augustine Pulu in line for his debut.
Pools:
Pool A: Fiji, Argentina, Canada, Japan
Pool B: South Africa, Scotland, Samoa, Russia
Pool C: New Zealand, United States, France, Portugal
Pool D: England, Australia, Wales, Kenya
Schedule – Friday, December 4:
(kick-off is local time – GMT plus four hours)
Match One: Fiji v Canada- 09.00
Match Two: Argentina v Japan -09.22
Match Three: South Africa v Samoa – 09.44
Match Four: Scotland v Russia – 10.06
Match Five: New Zealand v France – 10.30
Match Six: United States v Portugal – 10.52
Match Seven: England v Wales – 11.14
Match Eight: Australia v Kenya – 11.36
Match Nine: Fiji v Japan – 12.00
Match 10: Argentina v Canada – 12.22
Match 11: South Africa v Russia – 12.44
Match 12: Scotland v Samoa – 13.06
Match 13: New Zealand v Portugal – 14.14
Match 14: United States v France – 14.36
Match 15: England v Kenya – 14.58
Match 16: Australia v Wales – 15.20
Match 17: Canada v Japan – 18.06
Match 18: Fiji v Argentina – 18.28
Match 19: Samoa v Russia – 18.50
Match 20: South Africa v Scotland – 19.12
Match 21: France v Portugal – 19.36
Match 22: New Zealand v United States – 19.58
Match 23: Wales v Kenya – 20.20
Match 24: England v Australia – 20.42
Sources: @WorldRugby7s & AFP
