New Zealand, who enter the event eight points clear of Fiji after two rounds, are named as top seeds and are handed a tough draw as they face last year’s winners Samoa, Canada and Papua New Guinea in a physical Pool A.

Second seeds Fiji, who finished runners-up to New Zealand in both Dubai and George, top Pool B where they will face a young England side, who could have Sevens specialist Simon Amor returning, the Cook Islands and South Africa Bowl winners Wales.

South Africa head into the event third in the standings after reaching the semi-finals at both opening tournaments and top Pool C, where they will face France and Australia. However, the major threat in the Pool could come from a resurgent Kenya, who defeated England on their way to the Cup quarter finals in George.

Pool D is headed by Argentina, who have so far emulated their 15-a-side compatriots in impressing once more. Currently just four points behind South Africa in the overall standings, they face Scotland, the physical Tongans and George Plate finalists USA.

“The scene is set for an incredible two days of competition,” said IRB Sevens Manager Beth Coalter. “Over 34,000 supporters will be packed into the Westpac Stadium, all no doubt hoping that home favourites New Zealand can make it three in a row this season.

"So far New Zealand have been in a class of their own but there's a whole host of teams looking to spoil the party should they slip up including Fiji, South Africa, Argentina, England and last year’s winners Samoa. It will be an event not to be missed.

“All of the 12 core teams are capable of beating each other these days, it's really incredibly competitive with the likes of Kenya, USA, Scotland, Australia, Wales and Tonga all capable of making that next step up. The Wellington event is always among the more competitive because of the high quality of the qualifying sides from the Oceania region and I'm sure nobody will be taking Papua New Guinea or the Cook Islands lightly either.”

Pool A
New Zealand
Samoa
Canada
Papua New Guinea

Pool B
Fiji
England
Wales
Cook Islands

Pool C
South Africa
Kenya
Australia
France

Pool D
Argentina
Scotland
USA
Tonga

Day 1 Fixtures
1    13:00  Argentina - USA (Pool D)
2    13:22  Scotland - Tonga (Pool D)
3    13:44  South Africa - Australia (Pool C)
4    14:06  Kenya - France (Pool C)
5    14:28  Fiji - Wales (Pool B)
6    14:50  England - Cook Islands (Pool B)
7    15:12  New Zealand - Canada (Pool A)
8    15:34  Samoa  - Papua New Guinea (Pool A)
9    15:56  Argentina - Tonga (Pool D)
10   16:18  Scotland - USA (Pool D)
11   16:40  South Africa - France (Pool C)
12   17:02  Kenya - Australia (Pool C)
13   17:24  Fiji - Cook Islands (Pool B)
14   17:46  England - Wales (Pool B)
15   18:08  New Zealand - Papua New Guinea (Pool A)
16   18:30  Samoa - Canada (Pool A)
17   18:52  USA - Tonga  (Pool D)
18   19:14  Australia - France (Pool C)
19   19:36  Wales - Cook Islands (Pool B)
20   19:58  Canada - Papua New Guinea (Pool A)
21   20:50  Argentina - Scotland (Pool D)
22   21:12  South Africa - Kenya (Pool C)
23   21:34  Fiji - England  (Pool B)
24   21:56  New Zealand - Samoa (Pool A)