All rugby eyes turn to Cape Town

After a stunning start to the new season in Dubai, teams and fans alike are now looking ahead to the HSBC Cape Town Sevens this weekend. All indications are that the tournament won’t disappoint.

Cape Town is set to host its first round on the all-new ten-round series coming only a week after Fiji lifted the first Cup of the season in Dubai. The players have descended into South Africa’s iconic destination nestled between the dramatic mountainous backdrop of Table Mountain and the vast blue expanse of the Atlantic Ocean – and they’re ready to compete for the second Cup title of the season and continue their journey to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

No doubt it's going to be a very physical first day for us with three tough opponents.

England Captain Tom Mitchell

Fans from around the world are ready, too! Read for plenty of entertaining sevens action. 110,000 are expected for two sold out days at the 55,000-seater Cape Town Stadium as are millions more watching from home. 

HSBC Cape Town Sevens Fixtures

Fiji on top
Fiji sit on top of the standings, with England, USA and New Zealand completing the top four and heading the respective pools. Hosts and defending champions South Africa, who won the Plate in Dubai and will compete against fellow African countries Kenya and Zimbabwe, and England, in Pool B on day one.

Tom Mitchell, who captained England to second place in Dubai and was named in the Dubai dream team, is expecting a very physical challenge to open the weekend.

“No doubt it's going to be a very physical first day for us with three tough opponents," he said. "I think the third game will be the highlight for the crowd, obviously playing South Africa at home is a huge opportunity to experience here in Cape Town.”

Making an impact
Another player to watch will be France’s Virimi Vakataw, whose superb performances in Dubai won him the first-ever DHL Impact Player Award. The powerful Frenchman will be looking to pick up where he left off in Dubai. 10 tackles, 5 line breaks, 19 carries and 7 offloads were just a few of the things Vakatawa did as France lost just one match, to New Zealand, all weekend as they missed out on the quarter-finals on points difference. A chance to face New Zealand in pool play for a second week in a row, Vakatawa and France will be expecting to reach the Cup quarter-finals at the very least and have history in South Africa having made the final in 2013.

We need to work more on our attack.

French powerhouse Virimi Vakataw

Both England and France can take a lot of positives from Dubai. 

"It [Dubai] was an amazing experience and the guys did well to get to the final," said Mitchell. "We had some really close games against some very tough opposition so it was really pleasing to get to that stage. We’re really pleased with the way the guys battled to the end but in the end it wasn’t quite enough.”

“The tournament was very tough,” said Vakatawa. “I think we played well though, we played together and worked together as a team and you can see that with the outcome. We won five games out of six and only losing to New Zealand. We have been working hard and managed to stick together in the hot conditions.”

Where to watch?
Whereever you are in the world, you can catch all the action of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series either on TV or online at www.worldrugby.org. Click here to find out where.

And follow us throughout the Series @DHLRugby and on Facebook.