The real cost of BlitzBoks' loss
The BlitzBoks, who retained first place on the Series standings with a reduced margin of just two points ahead of Cape Town champions England, have been drawn in the proverbial 'pool of death' in Round Three.
The next leg of the World Series take place in Wellington, New Zealand, on January 28 and 29.
The BlitzBoks, winner in Dubai last week and runners-up in their home tournament this past weekend, have a very tough Pool B draw in Wellington – where they will face Olympic champions and current World Series title holders Fiji, Australia and Japan.
Cape Town winners England are drawn in Pool A with Kenya, Argentina and invitational team Papua New Guinea.
After an impressive performance in the second round, where they finished with bronze, hosts New Zealand will play the United States, France and Samoa in Pool C in Wellington.
Pool D features Scotland who will seek to improve on their fourth place finish in Cape Town, as well as Wales, Russia and Canada.
Apart from the tough matches in their pool, the BlitzBoks – should they make it into the Cup section on Day Two – will face one of the two top finishers from Pool C.
That means they could face New Zealand, the United States, France or Samoa in the Cup quarterfinals.
Wellington may yet prove to be decisive in South Africa's bid to end a eight-year drought – their only previous World Series win having been in the 2008/09 season.
They have finished runners-up in the World Series five times since.
