HSBC World Rugby Sevens 2023 announced, Olympic qualification in jeopardy - HSBC World Rugby Sevens (2023)

• The 2023 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series is unprecedented in size, with a strong line-up of teams and organizers
• The top four men's and women's teams in the 2023 series will receive tickets to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, with the Olympic qualification at stake.
• The men's series will see a record 11 rounds, including two in Hong Kong, with the first round taking place from November 4 to 6, 2022 before returning from March 31 to April 2, 2023.
• The women's series will feature a record seven rounds, one more than in 2022, and will begin in Dubai on December 2-3, 2022
• Australia will aim to defend the women's title, while the men's title for the 2022 series will be decided in Los Angeles on August 27-28.
• Rugby sevens continues to grow and evolve after the hugely influential Tokyo Olympics

The long fixture list for 2023 for the HSBC Rugby Sevens World Series has been released today, including a full list of teams and hosts, as the dynamic, high-octane Olympic sport grows, evolves and attracts new fans around the world.

Competition was fierce throughout, with the top four men's and women's teams from the 2023 standings battling for qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The men's series will consist of a record eleven rounds, two of which will be played in Hong Kong, with the first round taking place from November 4-6, 2022.

See the schedule for the series 2023>>

The women's series will play a record seven rounds and will begin in Dubai on December 2-3, 2022, the first of four consecutive events. Dubai will be followed by a trip to Cape Town, South Africa on December 9-11, before all teams meet in Hamilton, New Zealand (January 21-22) and Sydney, Australia (January 27-29) for the first time since 2020 . . ). ) for the game.

The men's series followed February 25-26 in Los Angeles, USA, followed by a combined round in Vancouver, Canada, March 3-5, which differed from previous series in that the women's championship was split from the men's together prior to the prestigious tournament. BC Place draws a boisterous, colorful crowd.

The men's and women's teams then travel to Hong Kong from March 31-April 2 for the traditional blockbuster, followed by the men's competition in Singapore from April 8-9.

As part of the combined event, the women's series will come to a thrilling conclusion in Toulouse, France, May 12-14, with the men's final a week later in London, England, May 20-21 for the HSBC World The 2023 Rugby Sevens The series is ending.

The Australian women's team will aim to defend the title in 2023 after dominating 2022, but will face stiff competition from Olympic champions New Zealand, France and Fiji, as well as an impressive run in the United States and Ireland, among others. To land.

View the standings of the 2022 series >>

With the 2022 Men's Series champion still to be decided, the final round will be played in Los Angeles on August 27-28, following an exciting, competitive weekend at London's Twickenham Stadium in front of more than 74,000 fans.

South Africa won the first four rounds in a row before two-time Olympic champions Fiji returned to the series with thrilling performances in Singapore and Toulouse, Argentina won their first series in 14 years in Vancouver and Australia took gold in London. With New Zealand's silver medalists also back in action, the 2023 series will be hotly contested.

Rugby Sevens players and fans will have a very busy and exciting period ahead of the 2023 series over the coming months, which will include the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, from 29-31 July. Games, followed by the culmination of the 2022 men's series in Los Angeles with the Rugby World Cup in August and the highly anticipated Rugby Sevens World Cup in Cape Town from September 9-11.

The World Rugby Challenger Series will also take place in August, offering one men's team and one women's team the opportunity to qualify for the 2023 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. Details on the Contenders Series will be announced soon.

The series continues to attract new fans following strong men's and women's competition at the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021. Independent research has shown that bringing rugby sevens to the Olympics for the second time has a huge impact on the sport, which can attract and motivate new, younger and more diverse fans around the world, especially in emerging rugby countries, 54% believed the Olympics had increased their interest in the sport and 63% were watching rugby sevens for the first time.

World Rugby's youth-focused social media content during the Tokyo Olympics was a huge success, thanks to the International Federation's 'This is our seven' engagement campaign.

Alan Gilpin, CEO of World Rugby, said: “Following a period of unique challenges for the global sport, we are pleased to announce the full return of rugby sevens and the 2023 HSBC World Sevens. The NFL roster is complete. , which is by far the largest.

“Fans around the world can mark their calendars and look forward with excitement and confidence to a series that will be filled with fierce competition and intense competition from start to finish, with the top four in 2023. The men's and women's teams will qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games qualifying series ranking.

“Players and fans who have missed returning to beloved locations such as Hong Kong, Hamilton and Sydney in recent years due to the impact of the global pandemic are now excited to return to their favorite locations, Hong Kong, Hamilton and Sydney. Expectations are extremely high and we are delighted to see Vancouver host the Women's Championship as part of the 2023 combined event.”

“I would like to thank our title partners HSBC, DHL, Capgemini and Gilbert for their outstanding support and dedication to the series during this difficult time for everyone. Our host partners and all stakeholders, who have made a huge effort to help us launch a series that goes from strength to strength.

“Research shows that rugby sevens plays a vital role in reaching and attracting new fans, especially in emerging rugby countries, and World Rugby is fully committed to the sustainable growth, innovation and success of rugby sevens, a very bright future as very influential future. . and successful Olympic sport".

Jonathan Castleman, Global Head of Brands and Brand Partnerships at HSBC, said: “We are delighted that the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series will be back in full force in 2023 and that we will be working with World Rugby to bring the world of rugby to the world. to bring. the next level. Rugby bounces back better after a tough period.” Game.

"We also look forward to seeing more matches between men's and women's teams around the world and will continue to celebrate and strive for more opportunities for our players."

Jamie Levchuk, Interim CEO and Chief Executive Officer, Revenue and Fan Engagement, Canada Rugby, said: “We are pleased to confirm that we will host a combined HSBC Canada Rugby Sevens event for women and men in Vancouver in 2023. an equal platform We are excited to welcome the world's top women's and men's seven teams to BC Place for three days of competition, March 3-5, 2023.

"We would like to thank the City of Langford for hosting the HSBC Canada Women's Rugby Sevens for their fantastic work since 2015. Langford will continue to be the home of Rugby Canada and we look forward to continuing to host international events at Star Stadium in the future."