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With just two events to play, at Twickenham this weekend and Murrayfield next week, the 2008/09 International Rugby Board Sevens World Series is reaching its climax and for once New Zealand are not at the races.
The South Africans hold all the aces - 28 points clear of the second-placed England, they require just 13 points from the last two events to clinch their first-ever IRB Series crown.
That means one semifinal appearance would be enough to ensure nobody can overtake them at the top.
Eight times in nine seasons the Kiwis have run out overall winners, but the current set of players lie fifth, having relinquished five of the six individual titles they held at the start of the season.
The Edinburgh Cup offers one final defence, but timeless coach Gordon Tietjens conceded the overall crown to South Africa a while ago.
"I think it's accepted that it's been a pretty tough year for us, we've had a few injuries that have knocked us back a bit, we've lost a bit of experience at times and also lost crucial games where we could have won to keep us in the race," said Tietjens.
Unlike Springbok coach Paul Treu, Tietjens' players are not full-time contracted Sevens players, meaning that those injury woes have been exacerbated by also needing to juggle player form and availability.
Twelve of last season's squad of 17 are not currently available for any number of reasons, but Tietjens is ready for a positive and confident climax to the season, which he hopes can set some new players on their way.
"I like the way we look here and I think we'll do well in London and Edinburgh," he said.
"Winning is important but it's not everything as long as you see the benefits of Sevens, and we do. In 2006 we didn't have a great year when Fiji won the Series but that was the team that went on to win 47 straight games, having used that year to learn.
"I'm expecting to keep a lot of this squad here together for next year so hopefully they'll kick on."
And while the spotlight will be firmly on the South Africans chasing their first Series title, another African country commanding a place of pride on the big stage is Kenya.
After their impressive run over the first six events of the IRB Series, Kenya Sevens coach Benjamin Ayimba remains convinced that his men are capable of clinching a first ever Cup title over the final two weekends of the season.
One of 12 ever-present teams on the Series, the popular Africans compete at Twickenham and Murrayfield.
The Kenyans' form has improved gradually throughout the year and they currently sit sixth in the world list with 58 Series points after a best ever season.
Cup quarterfinalists in Dubai in December, they reached a first ever semifinal in Wellington in February. In Hong Kong they again reached the Cup semifinal stage, where they lost out to eventual champions Fiji, but trumped that feat a week later in Adelaide by making it through to a first ever Cup Final.
Continental rivals South Africa proved too strong on that occasion, winning 26-7 to retain their Adelaide crown, but the rapid progress makes Ayimba believe that a first Cup trophy may not be too far away.
"The pools in England and Scotland are tricky but after reaching a final we are eager for a podium finish," he said.
"This is our best season ever but we really want to finish on a high and be in line for some of the accolades at the end of the season."
The South Africans, despite being on the brink of clinching the IRB crown, are not about to ease off. Coach Paul Treu has already stressed that his team will be aiming to win both tournaments instead of settling only for what is needed.
"We need to go out there and make sure we don't stuff it up. We've seen funny things happen in the past and we need to ensure we don't become complacent," said Treu.
"The standards we set for ourselves as a team are very high. We started the season well by winning the tournaments in Dubai and George and now we'd like to finish on a high as well.
"We have to be careful not to repeat mistakes made in the past, not only by us, but also from other teams in similar positions. We want to win it by playing consistently. New Zealand set the standard in the last 10 years and we want to change that."
The Springbok Sevens go into the last two tournaments in excellent form, having won 25 from their last 30 games, which is better than any other team on the circuit. Their opponents in Saturday's Group A matches are Wales (won 12 from their last 30 matches), Australia (won 16 from their last 30) and Germany (won 5 from their last 22).
According to statistics provided by the IRB, Treu's team has never lost to Wales or Germany in the IRB World Sevens Series, while the Springbok Sevens has beaten Australia 24 times out of 37 match-ups. The last game between South Africa and Australia was the Cup quarterfinal in Hong Kong on March 29 and the men in green and gold won that one by 24-10.
However, they will do well not to take the Welsh too lightly.
Wales coach Paul John has received the considerable boost of being able to select six of his World Cup Sevens champions among a squad of 12 to compete in London and Edinburgh.
Captain Lee Beach returns for the first time since that memorable night in Dubai and is joined by James Merriman, Craig Hill, Tal Selley, Tom Isaacs and Aled Thomas, who scored the winning try in the World Cup final against Argentina in March.
"It has been difficult to get back into Sevens training at the end of a long season for the players and coaches. However, we have trained hard over the last couple of weeks and we will do everything we can to be competitive at these two tournaments," said coach Paul John.
"We have a tough pool at both events, starting with South Africa, Australia and Germany at Twickenham. South Africa are Series leaders and hot favourites for the title, we haven't beaten South Africa or Australia all season and Germany are an unknown to us.
"We will have to be at our best to get out of that Pool and gain some important tournament points to end the season on a high.
"We know we are capable of beating anyone on our day, as we did at the World Cup and our defence will have to be as water-tight as in Dubai if we are going to make it to the last eight.
"It is great that some of our young players can benefit from playing with our more seasoned internationals in these two tournaments. I'm sure they will gain a great deal out of the experience."
If previous results are anything to go by, Pool C featuring Fiji, Kenya, USA and Scotland looks by far the most competitive at this weekend's London Sevens.
Given their glorious history in the sport, Fiji enjoy a glowing record against all three of their opponents but recent history has been less one-sided. The Pacific Islanders' form was much improved in Hong Kong - where they took the title - and Adelaide, but their form overall this season has been fairly erratic.
Of the four coaches, USA mastermind Al Caravelli has had to plug the most holes since the last two tournaments. Six of his starting seven for much of this season - Matt Hawkins, Rikus Pretorius, Shalom Suniula, Jone Naciqa, Kevin Swiryn and Justin Boyd - do not make this trip.
Having replaced Chris Wyles as captain just two tournaments ago, and with only eight Sevens tournaments under his belt, Swiryn has been snapped up by national 15-a-side coach Eddie O'Sullivan along with Boyd, their match-winner against Fiji in Wellington, leaving veteran James Gillenwater to captain the side.
"What this does is give these other young men an opportunity to rise to the occasion and their expectations are now much higher," said Caravelli.
"They're saying that these guys before them have got to four quarter finals and a semi, that's what we need to do, it's not acceptable to be happy with a Bowl or a Shield. They've set their goals and if they reach them I've very confident that they'll reach a Cup quarter final."
Pools:
Pool A: South Africa, Australia, Wales, Germany
Pool B: England, Samoa, France, Georgia
Pool C: Fiji, Kenya, USA, Scotland
Pool D: Argentina, New Zealand, Portugal, Canada
Schedule:
(Kick-off is local time - GMT + One hour)
Match 1: South Africa v Wales, 11.35
Match 2: Australia v Germany, 11.57
Match 3: Fiji v America, 12.19
Match 4: Kenya v Scotland, 12.41
Match 5: Argentina v Portugal, 13.03
Match 6: New Zealand v Canada, 13.25
Match 7: England v France, 13.47
Match 8: Samoa v Georgia, 14.09
Match 9: South Africa v Germany, 14.41
Match 10: Australia v Wales, 15.03
Match 11: Fiji v Scotland, 15.25
Match 12: Kenya v America, 15.47
Match 13: Argentina v Canada, 16.09
Match 14: New Zealand v Portugal, 16.31
Match 15: England v Georgia, 16.53
Match 16: Samoa v France, 17.15
Match 17: Wales v Germany, 17.59
Match 18: America v Scotland, 18.21
Match 19: Portugal v Canada, 18.43
Match 20: France v Georgia, 19.05
Match 21: South Africa v Australia, 19.27
Match 22: Fiji v Kenya, 19.49
Match 23: Argentina v New Zealand, 20.11
Match 24: England v Samoa, 20.33
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