RUGBY

TOUGH DRAW FOR SEVENS BOKS

South Africa have been handed a relatively tough draw for the third tournament in the 2007/2008 International Rugby Board Sevens World Series in Wellington next February, with all four sides in their pool capable of reaching the quarter-finals.

New Zealand, who have won both the tournaments in the 2007/08 series and now have four consecutive tournament wins after also winning the last to legs of the 2006/07 series in London and Edinburgh, are seeded first with the beaten finalists in Dubai and George, Fiji, ranked second for Wellington. Argentina heads the fourth pool. Paul Treu's Springboks, who are currently third on the overall standings after two consecutive semifinal appearances in Dubai and George, will battle it out with Kenya, France and Australia in Pool C.

If everything goes according to the seedings, South Africa will play Scotland in the quarter-finals, with New Zealand set to face England, Fiji projected to clash with Samoa and Argentina with Kenya. Kenya almost caused an upset against the South Africans in the Dubai quarterfinals, are a definite threat and could certainly keep Treu's men on their toes.

And if the seedings are anything to go by - which they're not in this unpredictable game - the Springboks qualify at the top of Pool C, they will once again be on a collision course with the second-seeded Fijians in the semifinals. South Africa will again play Fiji in the semifinals in a repeat of George, where the Springboks lost 21-7.

However, with all 12 the core teams capable of beating each other, the likes of the United Stated, Scotland, Australia, Wales and Tonga are all capable of surprising in their pools and making it to the quarters.