The Rio 2016 Olympic Games bronze medallists were victorious in both Las Vegas and Sydney and have been drawn alongside England, Kenya and Chile in Pool A at the BC Place Stadium.

Pool B includes Fiji, Argentina, Samoa and Wales, while Pool C is comprised of the United States, Australia, France and Japan.

New Zealand, Canada, Scotland and Russia are in Pool D.

After winning the last two events, South Africa now find themselves clear of the rest of the field in first place in the overall standings.

They sit on 107 with Rio 2016 Olympic champions Fiji in second on 83.

England complete the top three on 81.

The Blitzboks were handed a blow prior to the last tournament when overall top try scorer, Seabelo Senatla, left the squad to resume playing 15-a-side rugby.

However, it did not appear to affect them as they beat Fiji 19-12 at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas last time out.

Captains of all 16 teams were involved in a ceremonial puck drop at the National Hockey League (NHL) game between the Vancouver Canucks and the New York Islanders last night.

Canada's captain, Harry Jones, claimed he is confident of causing an upset if the home supporters get behind the team.

“It was pretty exciting for us tonight," said Jones.

"I didn’t think I’d ever be out on the ice singing the national anthem before an NHL game but it was great to be able to do that.

"It has got me fired up for the weekend and if the reaction tonight is any indication of what it’s going to be like this weekend then it’s going to be very special.

“The crowd was so important for us last year.

"We are hoping to go even better this year and if the crowd really gets behind us I think we can do big things."

Action is due to begin tomorrow before concluding on Sunday (March 12) with the finals.