Sydney set for Sevens extravaganza
Sydney will come alive in February 2016 after World Rugby and the Australian Rugby Union announced that the dates of the inaugural Sydney Sevens.
The weekend of February 6-7, 2016 will see the flamboyant Fijians, the irrepressible New Zealand, the brilliant Blitzboks and the speed-kings of the USA will be among 16 of the top-ranked Sevens countries participating in a weekend of free-flowing, fast-moving action at Allianz Stadium.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events and Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres said that the Sydney Sevens will be a major highlight of the region's events calendar.
"The Sydney Sevens will attract fans from around Australia and the world to our State and promises to be a fantastic experience both on and off the field. The New South Wales Government is proud to have secured this event for Sydney through our tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, and it will be one of the most anticipated events of the summer," Ayres said.
Sydney, which will host the Australian leg of the Sevens World Series for four years, will be the fourth stop on an extended Sevens World Series circuit. The Harbour City joins a host of iconic cities across the globe staging the event including Cape Town, Vancouver, Dubai, Paris, Las Vegas, Singapore and London.
"There will be no better way to kick off a new season of rugby in this country than the Sydney Sevens in February.
"It [2016] will be a bumper year for Australian Rugby fans – we have the re-vamped Super Rugby competition that will feature teams from Argentina and Japan; England touring here in June; and Sevens will make its debut at the Olympics in Rio in August.
"The global appeal of the game has never been stronger and we are looking forward to welcoming fans and players from 16 countries to the Sydney Sevens in the first weekend of February, "Australian Rugby Union CEO Bill Pulver said.
