Home Tokyo Olympics: Blitzboks avoid big names in Sevens draw

Tokyo Olympics: Blitzboks avoid big names in Sevens draw

The Blitzboks have been drawn alongside the USA, Kenya and Ireland in Pool C for the sevens event at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in Japan.

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The competition sees three of the top four placed teams from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games together in Pool B as reigning Olympic champions Fiji will face silver medalists Great Britain and hosts Japan, who finished a very creditable fourth in Rio, along with Olympic debutants Canada who claimed bronze at the last HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series event, which took place in Vancouver last year.

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Pool A sees a renewal of the mouth-watering antipodean rivalry between current Rugby World Cup Sevens and World Series champions New Zealand and Australia, who met in the final of the last Series event in Vancouver, with the All Blacks Sevens winning a tightly contested match 17-14. Joining them in Pool A are Argentina, who finished sixth in Rio, alongside Olympic debutants Korea who qualified for Tokyo by winning the Asian qualification tournament with an extra-time ‘golden point’ try to overcome Hong Kong.

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South Africa, bronze medalists in Rio, and USA are in Pool C having both achieved direct Olympic qualification by finishing in the top four of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2019, where the USA Eagles finished runners-up after reaching the medal podium in seven of the 10 Series rounds. Joining them are Kenya, who qualified courtesy of their first Rugby Africa men’s sevens title since 2015, and Olympic debutants Ireland, who secured the final spot thanks to a thrilling 28-19 victory over France in the World Rugby Sevens Repechage in Monaco earlier this month.

The top two countries in each of the three groups in addition to the next two best-placed sides will progress to the quarter-finals.

The event is scheduled for 26-28 July at the Tokyo Stadium.

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Blitzboks preliminary Tokyo Olympics squad:

Sakoyisa Makata, Dylan Sage, Impi Visser, Zain Davids, Angelo Davids, JC Pretorius, Branco du Preez, Selvyn Davids, Justin Geduld, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Stedman Gans, Ronald Brown, Chris Dry, Ruhan Nel, Muller du Plessis, Lubabalo Dobela 



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