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Robin Heymann in Dubai

Reigning champions South Africa have been handed a tough task if they are to successfully defend the title they won at the Dubai Rugby Sevens last year.

 The Springbok Sevens side easily negotiated their way through the pool stages with victories over Wales, the Arabian Gulf and Australia but will face Fiji in the first of tomorrow’s Cup quarter-finals.

Should they manage a victory over the Fijians they could set up a possible semi-final clash with eight-time IRB Sevens World Series champions New Zealand, if they get the better of Kenya in their quarterfinal.

“It’s obviously not ideal to play a team like Fiji in the quarterfinals but if you want to win a tournament you’re going to have to play them at some stage so it might as well be now,” said South African captain Paul Delport speaking to Supersports.

His coach, Paul Treu pointed out: “Fiji have actually beaten us the last two times we played against them, at the World Games and in Edinburgh earlier this year.

“They are a tough team to play and have guys that make magic out of nothing but if we can play like we did against Australia, suffocate their space and not give them any room on defence, we’ve got a chance,” added Treu who was particularly pleased that his side had improved throughout the day.

Captain Paul Delport led from the front scoring and making a host of scores and was keen to play down the favourites tag.

"Everyone is expecting us to win after our success last year but the game has progressed and developed. There are many good teams now."

New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens is also aware of the tough task ahead of his side and knows his side can get turned over by the Kenyans.

“We will have to step up our performance against Kenya in the quarterfinals. They are a team that have beaten us twice this year so it’s going to be a tough contest. But I’m really pleased with the team’s performance so far, particularly against Argentina and we’re looking forward to the challenge tomorrow,” he said.