Shujaa draw Russia in Sydney 7s Challenge Trophy quarters

The national rugby sevens team will play Russia in the Challenge Trophy  quarters after finishing third on pool A at the sweltering Sydney Sevens on Saturday.

The Shujaa dropped to the Challenge Trophy for the second time after twice surrendering healthy leads against England (19-12) and South Africa (14-7) in their opening fixtures before downing Japan 17-12.

Alongside Kenya and Russia – who finished fourth in group D – Scotland face Samoa, Canada meet Japan and France take on Papua New Guinea in other Sunday’s Challenge Trophy clashes.

New Zealand will face Fiji in a crunch quarter-final after going through unbeaten on opening day.

It will be another quarter-final between the two Sevens powerhouses after the Fijians beat them at the same stage in last weekend’s tournament in Wellington.

New Zealand topped their pool after wins over Australia, Papua New Guinea and Scotland, while Fiji were shocked 28-15 by Wales in their group to set up the quarter-final with the Kiwis.

Kiwi star Tim Mikkelson said the hot weather in Sydney had been challenging, with more heat forecast on Sunday.

“You need to get the ball to beat Fiji and if we can get the ball from the kick-offs we can make it a contest and really go forward on attack,” Mikkelson said.

“Recovery is huge, hydration too. A few boys are cramping up and I hear it’ll be even hotter tomorrow so we’ll have to be even better.”

In Sunday’s other quarter-finals, Australia will play Wales, England take on Argentina and the United States face South Africa.

England finished top of Pool A with wins over Kenya, Japan and South Africa.

The Springboks had wins over Japan and Kenya before being edged by England in their final pool match.

“We never managed to pick up any momentum as the day progressed,” coach Neil Powell said.

“Last week we managed to build up steam, but today we just could not do the same.

“In a way, this was a good thing to happen, because our character will now be tested. It will be interesting to see how we shape up tomorrow against America.”

Australia qualified for a quarter-final against Wales after finishing second in Pool C with victories over Scotland and Papua New Guinea.

“You saw what Wales did to Fiji today so we know they are a quality side,” Australia coach Andy Friend said.

“We had a good win against them last week in Wellington but we also know that every game and tournament is different so they’ll be tough tomorrow.

“We haven’t been (in the final eight) in the last two tournaments so it’s great to be back into that.”