Defending 2008/2009 IRB World 7s series holders, South Africa have retained 9 of their winning players ahead of the start of the new series in Dubai.

Coach Paul Treu has retained most of his players with the likes of Mzwandile Stick, Marius Schoeman, Neil Powell, Mpho Mbiyozo, Ryno Benjamin as well as Kyle Brown.

Another interesting change to the Paul Delport led side is that they will be running on with new light weight jerseys, that will see it more difficult to grab the jersey.

Looking at the team, one notable absentee is Renfred Dazel who was South Africa's outstanding player of 2008.

South Africa has been drawn into Pool A with Melrose Cup holders Wales, Australia, and the Arabian Gulf.

Fiji heads Pool B with Samoa, Scotland and Zimbabwe, while England heads Pool C with Kenya, USA and Russia and New Zealand head Pool D with Argentina, Portugal and France.

The Dubai 7s kicks off next Friday December 4th.