03 December 2019, by: Leonard Solms

World Rugby Dubai Sevens: Punters Guide

The Blitzboks begin their quest to regain their World Rugby Sevens Series title at Dubai’s Sevens Stadium. The first tournament of the 2019-20 season takes place from 5 to 7 December 2019 and the teams will have one eye on Tokyo 2020.

The Dubai 7s is scheduled to kick off at 15:06 SAST on Thursday 5 December with Samoa and Canada clashing first.

South Africa are in action later that day, at 17:54, against Kenya — an unpredictable Pool D opponent.

Next up for the Blitzboks is a showdown with Spain at 11:48 on Friday, followed by a particularly challenging encounter against England at 17:54 that same day.

Make room in your Saturday schedule for the Dubai Cup final, which is scheduled to kick off at 17:02.

Defending World Series champions Fiji are paying to win, with USA hot on their tails at . New Zealand are playing and South Africa .

These teams — the top four from last season’s overall standings — are the four clear favourites according to the . Next is Australia at 11.25.

Fiji are in what should be a relatively straightforward Pool A alongside France, Argentina and Japan.

This coupled with the fact that they ended off last season with tournament wins in London and Paris means that the defending series champions are one of the teams to watch.

They are unlikely to have an easy ride, though. The USA will be looking to make a statement of intent after finishing second overall last season, while New Zealand are the defending Dubai 7s champions.

The Blitzboks, meanwhile, head into the tournament boosted by the presence of the likes of Rosko Specman, Seabelo Senatla, Dylan Sage, and Ruhan Nel, who will return in the new year to their Super Rugby teams.

South Africa’s depth means that Stedman Gans, Werner Kok, Branco du Preez and Cecil Afrika have had to settle for spots in the academy squad.

The Blitzboks’ strength in depth, plus big odds, means that the value is on South Africa for the Dubai leg of the 2019-20 World Series.

1 Fiji 186

2 United States 177

3 New Zealand 162

4 South Africa 148

5 England 114

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