The Manu Samoa 7s are looking to carry on their strong start to the World Rugby Sevens Series in the Cape Town leg this weekend.

Having finished fourth in the Series opener in Dubai last weekend, captain Tomasi Alosio said they are focussed on preparing mentally, and getting their bodies right for the tournament in South Africa, which kicks off on Saturday morning Samoan time.

“The boys have taken a lot of confidence out of Dubai last weekend, so we hope to take that into Cape Town this weekend," he said.

“Thank you for all your support over the last weekend, it’s been very emotional for us, especially playing for the people back in our country who are suffering in the measles epidemic.

“Once again we play for the people of our country back in Samoa this weekend here in Cape Town."

Samoa's first game in Pool D is at 4:59 am against Kenya, who finished 13th in Dubai.

Kenya defeated Samoa in their previous matchup; a 20-21 win at the London Sevens in May.

The Manu 7s won their only other encounter on the 2018/19 Series, in which Kenya finished 13th in the overall standings, just two spots above relegation.

Samoa's next game is against Ireland on Saturday at 11:59 pm.

The Irish are something of an unknown quantity, having been promoted to their first ever Series campaign as a in 2019/20.

In fact, Samoa have only played one game against Ireland in history; a 24-5 win back in 2000.

The newcomers finished 12th in Dubai, with top alltime tryscorer Jordan Conroy starring on his way to a spot in the tournament Dream Team, alongside Manu skipper Tomasi Alosio.

On paper, the final Pool D match looks to be a showdown for first place between Samoa and Australia on Sunday at 5:09 am.

The two teams will match up for the third time in little over a month, with Australia beating Samoa 19-12 in the Oceania Sevens Olympic qualifying playoff in November before the Manu got some revenge by knocking them out of Dubai with a 19-14 quarterfinal win.

Manu Samoa 7s squad (one to be omitted):

Tofatuimoana Solia
Alamanda Motuga
Kirisimasi Savaiinaea
Belgium Tuatagaloa
John Vaili
Paulo Scanlan
Phillip Luki
Tomasi Alosio (c)
Tuna Tuitama
Elisapeta Alofipo
Joe Perez
Losi Filipo
Kelvin Masoe (debutant)
Paulo Toilolo