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Wellington - South Africa beat Olympic champion Fiji 31-12 on Saturday to stay unbeaten and atop their pool after the first day of the New Zealand Sevens, the third round of the 2017 HSBC World Rugby Sevens series.
In a tough pool which featured Rio de Janiero gold medalists Fiji, bronze medalists South Africa and quarter-finalists Australia, the Blitzboks beat Japan 33-0 and Australia 28-0 before their commanding win over Fiji.
South Africa made a commanding start to the current season on the world circuit, beating Fiji in the final to win the first tournament at Dubai and losing 19-17 to England in the final of their home tournament in Cape Town on December 11.
"We knew we had a tough pool but the guys came out today, laid a solid foundation and kept building on that," South Africa captain Philip Snyman said.
"We work hard on our defence, it's something you can always improve and we're now looking forward to the rest of the tournament."
England was equally impressive in winning Pool A by beating Papua New Guinea 40-0, Argentina 26-7 and Kenya 31-12 to stay on course for another final showdown with South Africa. They will face Scotland in Sunday's quarter-finals.
"We were trying to build through the day today," England captain Tom Mitchell said.
"It's been a long time since we last played and it was a case of getting through our rustiness early on.
"Scotland next. We know them very well and we are pretty close with them after training with some of them for (Britain at the Olympic Games). It's always a fierce game with them and it'll be a tough one."
New Zealand scrambled their way to first place in Pool C, beating Samoa 33-0, France 21-14 and the United States 24-12.
The hosts will face Fiji in the quarter-finals while France, which edged the United States for second in a tight pool, will play South Africa (02:44 SA time).
The New Zealanders struggled for most of the day and their most pleasing win was likely over Samoa who are now coached by former New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens.
Tietjens coached New Zealand for 12 years, but presided in his last three years over the steady deterioration in New Zealand sevens rugby, culminating in its humiliation at the Rio de Janiero Olympics. He resigned after that campaign and took on the Samoa coaching job in response to what he saw as his harsh treatment by New Zealand Rugby.
New Zealand, under caretaker coaches Scott Waldrom and Tomasi Cama, fielded a young team in the match against the United States which showed composure under pressure.
"It's exciting seeing these young guys taking the opportunity," captain Tim Mikkelson said.
"They've been itching every game and it's good to get them on.
"The crossover is really tough and here we want to get up, do our homework, but we're going to have to do things well against Fiji."
Canada finished unbeaten and in first place in Pool D, beating Scotland 28-19, Wales 28-5 and Russia 29-0.
Wellington Seven Cup quarter-finals (SA time):
01:38 - England v Scotland
02:00 - New Zealand v Fiji
02:22 - Canada v Argentina
02:44 - South Africa v France
Results on Saturday on the first day of the Wellington Sevens, third round of the World Rugby Sevens series:
Pool A
Argentina 17, Kenya 12
England 40, Papua New Guinea 0
Kenya 47, Papua New Guinea 5
England 26, Argentina 7
Argentina 41, Papua New Guinea 14
England 31, Kenya 12
Pool B
Fiji 26, Australia 12
South Africa 33, Japan 0
Fiji 56, Japan 0
South Africa 28, Australia 0
Australia 33, Japan 12
South Africa 31, Fiji 12
Pool C
United States 21, France 21
New Zealand 33, France 7
United States 24, Samoa 12
New Zealand 21, France 14
France 28, Samoa 5
New Zealand 24, United States 12
Pool D
Wales 33, Russia 0
Canada 28, Scotland 19
Canada 28, Wales 5
Scotland 12, Russia 5
Canada 29, Russia 0
Scotland 31, Wales 7
Your Cup quarter-finalists at the #WellySevens! pic.twitter.com/oicyLdy4Mo
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) January 28, 2017
