Dubai Sevens 2018 dates confirmed as World Rugby announce 2018-19 Sevens World Series schedule

Sport360 staff 18:53 10/07/2018
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  • The 2018 Dubai Sevens will be held from November 30 to December 1

    The dates for Dubai’s biggest sporting party of the year have been announced with the annual Dubai Sevens set to take place at the aptly named Sevens on the weekend of November 29 – December 1.

    The Dubai tournament is the first leg of the HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series, which next season also doubles as a qualifying competition for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for both the Men and Women’s teams.

    South Africa are the defending Men’s Series champions, pipping Fiji for the title after defeating England in Paris to win the final leg of the 10-round series.

    While Olympic champions Australia are the reigning Women’s Series champs, after narrowly holding off a superb New Zealand Black Ferns team in Paris.

    Both South Africa and Australia are also the Dubai defending champions.

    The men’s and women’s Series in 2018 saw record-breaking fan engagement figures with more than 120 million video views, a 60 per cent increase on 2017.

    The 2018/19 will be hotly contested as 15 core men’s teams and 11 core women’s teams compete for their respective titles, and with the series acting as the principal route for qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, it promises to be even more competitive than usual.

    The 2018/19 series welcomes Japan’s men and China’s women as core teams after they won the Hong Kong qualifier in April.

    This season, the Women’s Sevens Series increases to six rounds with USA hosting the new opening round in Glendale, Colorado, on 20-21 October, 2018.

    Rounds two and three are combined events alongside the men’s series, in Dubai on 29-30 November, and Sydney on February 1-2, before standalone events in Japan, on April 20-21 and Langford, Canada, on May 11-12.

    The Women’s Series 2018/19 will culminate in Paris, May 31 – June 1.

    The men’s Series will again be contested across 10 rounds from November 2018 to June 2019.

    The series opens in Dubai before teams move on to Cape Town in South Africa the following week.

    In the New Year, teams will travel to Hamilton, New Zealand, on January 26-27 before both men’s and women’s teams are welcomed to Sydney, Australia, for three days of action packed rugby sevens from 1-3 February.

    The fifth and sixth rounds will be hosted in Las Vegas, USA, on March 1-3 and Vancouver, Canada, on March 9-10, before teams travel to Hong Kong on 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 on May 25-26 with Paris hosting the finale on June 1-2.

    “As we enter an Olympic Games qualifying year, the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series promises to again be highly competitive as both men’s and women’s teams look to secure their place, via the world series, at Tokyo 2020,” said World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont.

    “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 not only for the coveted world series title, but also Olympic qualification.”

    HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series schedule

    Nov 30 – Dec 1: Dubai

    Dec 8 – 9: Cape Town

    Jan 26 – 27: Hamilton

    Feb 2 – 3: Sydney

    Mar 1 – 3: Las Vegas

    Mar 9 – 10: Vancouver

    Apr 5 – 7: Hong Kong

    Apr 13 – 14: Singapore

    May 25 – 26: London

    June 1 – 2: Paris

    HSBC World Rugby Men’s Sevens Series schedule

    October 20-21: Glendale, Colorado

    Nov 29-30: Dubai

    February 1-2: Sydney

    April 20-21: Japan

    May 11-12: Langford, Canada

    May 31 – June 1: Paris

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