South Africa close in on Series title at Edmonton Sevens

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — South Africa closed in on the rugby Sevens World Series title by cruising through the group stage undefeated and advancing to the quarterfinals of the Edmonton tournament. South Africa only needs to make the final at Edmonton to be crowned series champion after its tournament victory in the Vancouver, British Columbia leg last week. The 2021 series has been shortened due to the coronavirus pandemic.  The twin tournaments are missing many of the top-ranked teams due to COVID-19 travel and quarantine restrictions, including Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalists Fiji, silver medalists New Zealand, as well as Australia and Samoa.