Despite being top seeds for IRB Sevens Series tournament in George on December 11 and 12, defending champions South Africa have been handed a tough draw.

The Springboks will face Kenya, who in the 2008/09 series showed they are now a real force and should no longer be merely regarded as giant-killers; France, who have shown towards the end of the series that they are a force to be reckoned with, and Zimbabwe, who three weeks ago accounted for the traditionally strong Argentina in the semifinals of the Namibia Sevens after drawing with them in the pool round.

Fiji are the top seeds in Pool B and shall battle it out with Australia, Portugal and Russia for a place in the next round.

Former title holders New Zealand will be out to regain their winning status in George and have been drawn in a tough pool alongside Sevens World Cup winners Wales, traditional Pacific Island rivals Samoa and the ever-improving USA.

Pool D is headed by Scotland and they will have to face the powerful outfits of England and Argentina and also Tunisia.

Springbok Sevens coach Paul Treu said he is pleased with the draw but warned that there would be no easy game on the first day.

"The first two tournaments of the new season promise to be very tough because the teams are intent on making a strong start.

"Two of the teams in our group have shown recently that they are on the way up and there are no more easy matches nowadays. The Kenyans were very good last season and Zimbabwe showed how dangerous they can be by beating Argentina in the recent Trustco Namibian Sevens.

"All four of the pools for George will be hotly contested and an upset or two is very possible. We are there as defending champions, which would add some pressure, but if we can get the same level of support as last year, we can defend out title," said Treu.

"Although we've lost some very good players, we've also gained a few exciting new faces and we are really looking forward to the season," he added.

One of Treu's new signings, Cecil Afrika, started training with the Springbok Sevens team in Stellenbosch on Monday. The second new signing announced recently, MJ Mentz, will join the squad in camp at the conclusion of the Pumas' domestic season. The Pumas still have to play in the Currie Cup First Division final as well as the two promotion/relegation encounters against Boland.

SA Rugby, meanwhile, has announced that tickets for the Sevens tournament in George are available at Computicket outlets countrywide and also online at www.computicket.com . Supporters can also contact the Computicket Call Centre on 083 915 8000 for further information or to buy tickets telephonically.

Fans in George and its surrounding areas can buy their tickets from the SWD Eagles ticket office at Outeniqua Park. Veronica Stoffels is the contact person and her telephone number is 044-873 0138.