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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - South Africa began its title defence at the rugby Dubai Sevens with three dominating wins Friday and heavyweight New Zealand also advanced to the quarterfinals.
New Zealand also looked convincing in beating Scotland 41-7, the Arabian Gulf 64-0 and France 21-19. The Kiwis will next play Argentina.
South Africa defeated Canada 31-5 and Tunisia 42-0 before overcoming England 22-10 to set up a quarterfinal against Kenya. Fabian Juries scored five tries for the Springboks, including three against England.
"We have only come here to win the tournament. We don't just want to be competitive," said Springbok coach Paul Treu. "The guys will take a lot of confidence from the way we played. And they played particularly well in the last game, considering it was make or break for England."
Dubai Rugby Sevens is the season-opening tournament of IRB Sevens World Series.
Fiji also remained unbeaten with a 46-12 win over Australia, after beating Argentina and Zimbabwe, while England barely advanced to the quarterfinals after an earlier 24-24 draw against Canada.
England will next face Samoa, which won its matches against Kenya (24-19), United States (29-0) and Wales (19-14).
"Its a massive task against Samoa, who have one of the best Sevens players in the world in Uale Mai," said England coach Ben Ryan. "We have just got to come out and give it absolutely everything tomorrow. There should be no excuses."
Scotland also advanced after beating Arabian Gulf 27-5 and France 17-12, and will take on Fiji on Saturday.
- AP
