South Africa were drawn in a tough pool on Thursday night for the sixth leg of the Sevens World Series in Hong Kong next month.

The Blitzboks will face series leaders New Zealand, Sevens World Cup champions Wales and the United States in Pool B.

“All the teams will be out to raise their game in Hong Kong,” said SA coach Paul Treu.

“It is a unique venue and has a special atmosphere and it will therefore pose a different mental approach.

“We are in a really tough pool. New Zealand is the series leader and last week in [Las] Vegas they came within seconds of winning their third consecutive tournament of the season.

“Wales are the Sevens World Cup winners and have improved steadily since then.

“They recently showed against Fiji what they are capable of, so they will be a huge challenge for us, and the USA is always very difficult because of their competitive nature.”  Samoa will face England, Argentina and Kenya in Pool A, with Fiji, Australia, France and Scotland squaring off in Pool C.

South Africa are in third place in the series with 76 points, trailing New Zealand and Fiji.