Dates for 2018/19 Sevens series confirmed
NEWS: The schedule for the men’s World Rugby Sevens Series 2018/19 was confirmed on Friday.
The World Rugby Sevens Series, with South Africa again defending the overall title, will be contested across 10 rounds from November 2018 to June 2019.
The series opens in Dubai (November 30 to December 1, 2018), before teams move on to Cape Town the following weekend (December 8 and 9).
In the New Year, teams will travel to Hamilton, New Zealand (January 26-27, 2019), before both men’s and women’s teams are welcomed to Sydney, Australia (February 1-3).
The fifth and sixth rounds will be hosted in Las Vegas, USA (March 1-3) and Vancouver, Canada (March 9-10), before teams travel to Hong Kong (April 5-7) and Singapore on (April 13-14) for rounds seven and eight respectively.
The penultimate round of the series will take place again in London (May 25-26), with Paris hosting the finale (June 1-2).
World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “As we enter an Olympic Games qualifying year, the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series promises to again be highly competitive teams look to secure their place, via the World Series, at Tokyo 2020.
“Rugby sevens has seen record growth in awareness in recent years with its inclusion in the Olympics having a profound effect on the sport, attracting an estimated 30 million fans globally. The series continues to capture the imagination of global audiences with record-breaking fan engagement figures of over 120 million video views recorded this year.
“The World Series is truly one of rugby sevens’ flagship competitions and we are looking forward to watching teams once again compete at the highest level for not only for the coveted World Series title, but also Olympic qualification.”
Sevens continues to engage global audiences and break new ground. The men’s and women’s World Rugby Sevens Series 2018 saw record-breaking fan engagement figures with more than 120 million video views, a 60 percent increase on 2017.
World Rugby Sevens Series Men’s Schedule:
Dubai, UAE, 30 November – 1 December 2018
Cape Town, South Africa, 8-9 December 2018
Hamilton, New Zealand, 26- 27 January 2019
Sydney, Australia, 2-3 February 2019
Las Vegas, USA, 1-3 March 2019
Vancouver, Canada, 9-10 March 2019
Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 5-7 April 2019
Singapore, Singapore, 13-14 April 2019
London, England, 25-26 May 2019
Paris, France, 1-2 June 2019