England have their eyes on George

Defending champions England will aspire to stave-off the challenge of top seeds New Zealand at the second stop on the 2004/05 International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens in George, South Africa, on December 10 and 11.

Last year's George crown went to Simon Amor's England, after they beat defending IRB champions New Zealand 38-14 in the Final in front of a vocal 17,000 crowd. This was largely thanks to an inspired individual performance by play-maker Ben Gollings.

This year New Zealand will look to exact revenge, but must first negotiate a pool featuring France, Tunisia and Portugal.

The latter, who were the top-ranked qualifiers from Europe for next year's Rugby World Cup Sevens, face the New Zealanders in the very first match of the event and will surely look to catch them off guard.

For England to make the play-offs Amor will have an even harder task in guiding his second-seeded outfit through a very strong Pool B, which also includes Australia, Kenya and Ireland.

Hosts South Africa, who reached the semi-finals last year before losing out to eventual winners England, will be looking to win on native soil.

South Africa's final pool game is against the hard tackling Samoa outfit. Both teams will provide some crunching entertainment for the home fans.

Argentina, who won their first-ever IRB Sevens event in Los Angeles last year, start the George event as third seeds, and therefore top Pool C, where they will face Fiji, Scotland and Arabian Gulf.

Playing Schedule - Day 1:
(All times local: GMT plus 2)

Match 1: 10.00 New Zealand v Portugal
Match 2: 10.22 France v Tunisia
Match 3: 10.44 England v Kenya
Match 4: 11.06 Australia v Ireland
Match 5: 11.28 Argentina v Scotland
Match 6: 11.50 Fiji v Arabian Gulf
Match 7: 12.12 South Africa v Canada
Match 8: 12.34 Samoa v Namibia
Match 9: 13.06 New Zealand v Tunisia
Match 10: 13.28 France v Portugal
Match 11: 13.50 England v Ireland
Match 12: 14.12 Australia v Kenya
Match 13: 14.34 Argentina v Arabian Gulf
Match 14: 14.56 Fiji v Scotland
Match 15: 15.18 South Africa v Namibia
Match 16: 15.40 Samoa v Canada
Match 17: 16.02 Portugal v Tunisia
Match 18: 16.24 Kenya v Ireland
Match 19: 16.46 Scotland v Arabian Gulf
Match 20: 17.08 Canada v Namibia
Match 21: 17.40 New Zealand v France
Match 22: 18.02 England v Australia
Match 23: 18.24 Argentina v Fiji
Match 24: 18.46 South Africa v Samoa

Playing Schedule - Day 2

Match 25: 09.45 Bowl QF - 3rd Pool A v 4th Pool B
Match 26: 10.07 Bowl QF - 3rd Pool D v 4th Pool C
Match 27: 10.29 Bowl QF - 3rd Pool C v 4th Pool D
Match 28: 10.51 Bowl QF - 3rd Pool B v 4th Pool A
Match 29: 11.13 QF Cup - 1st Pool A v 2nd Pool B
Match 30: 11.35 QF Cup - 1st Pool D v 2nd Pool C
Match 31: 11.57 QF Cup - 1st Pool C v 2nd Pool D
Match 32: 12.19 QF Cup - 1st Pool B v 2nd Pool A
Match 33: 13.04 SF Shield - Loser match 25 v Loser match 26
Match 34: 13.26 SF Shield - Loser match 27 v Loser match 28
Match 35: 13.48 SF Bowl - Winner match 25 v Winner match 26
Match 36: 14.10 SF Bowl - Winner match 27 v Winner match 28
Match 37: 14.32 SF Plate - Loser match 28 v Loser match 30
Match 38: 14.51 SF Plate -Loser match 31 v Loser match 32
Match 39: 15.16 SF Cup Winner - match 29 v Winner match 30
Match 40: 15.38 SF Cup Winner - match 31 v Winner match 32
Match 41: 16.30 Shield Final Winner - match 33 v Winner match 34
Match 42: 17.00 Bowl Final Winner - match 35 v Winner match 36
Match 43: 17.30 Plate Final Winner - match 37 v Winner match 38
Match 44: 18.00 Cup Final Winner - match 39 v Winner match 40