World Rugby announces plans for 'condensed' Sevens Series

World Rugby has unveiled plans for a condensed edition of its World Sevens Series, with the first men’s events to take place after the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The schedule includes five women’s and four men’s rounds, with the potential for two further men’s events. Hong Kong, Dubai and the South African city of Cape Town to host joint men’s and women’s events.

World Rugby has planned a more “compact” series this year given the ongoing difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to accommodate the Olympics.

The series starts with back-to-back women’s events in France on 15th/16th and 22nd/23rd May. The series will then return after the Olympics with a men’s event in Singapore on 29th/30th October, with joint men’s and women’s rounds to follow in Hong Kong from 5th to 7th November, Dubai on 3rd/4th December and Cape Town from 10th to 12th December.

Discussions are ongoing regarding other possible men’s events in in between the Olympics and the Singapore event, with World Rugby to provide further updates to the schedule when they are available.

No Sevens Series games have been played since last March due to COVID-19, with World Rugby cancelling the 2019/20 campaign with four men’s events and three women’s events still to play. New Zealand are the reigning champions of both series.

This year, Japan will join as a core team in the men’s series while the England, Scotland and Wales teams will compete as GB Sevens in both series due to it being an Olympic year. As a result, two additional invitational places for the men’s events will be offered.

World Rugby is investing US$4 million into Olympic-qualified unions’ sevens programs and towards the costs of hosting high-performance preparation events ahead of Tokyo 2020. The first of these events took place in Madrid on 20th/21st and 27th/28th February with another planned for the USA in June.

Announcing the schedule, World Rugby interim Chief Executive Alan Gilpin stated “as a key driver of game growth, particularly in emerging markets, the continued success of rugby sevens and the Sevens Series is a strategic priority for World Rugby and our $4 million funding to support sevens programmes is a clear demonstration of our commitment.

“This unique Olympic year provides a huge opportunity to reach new audiences around the world and introduce them to the speed, skill and excitement of rugby sevens, encouraging them to become future fans of the Series.

“Above all, the health, safety and wellbeing of players, fans and the wider community remains our top priority and all stakeholders will continue to closely monitor global developments with the COVID-19 pandemic and work closely with host governments and health agencies to ensure a safe, secure and highly impactful return to the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.”

If teams are unable to travel or participate in all events this year, World Rugby will, where possible, invite replacement teams to fill the places of any core team.

Image: World Sevens Series action at the Singapore Sports Hub.