France and Japan Drop Out of Vancouver 7s, New Teams Announced Mexico, Jamaica and Hong Kong
France and Japan have dropped out of the Vancouver 7s and presumably out of the Edmonton 7s. New teams Mexico, Jamaica and Hong Kong have been added.
The pools are:
Pool A: South Africa, Kenya, Spain, Mexico
Pool B: Great Britain, Ireland, Hong Kong, Jamaica
Pool C: USA, Canada, Germany, Chile
The women’s mini-tournament will feature: Great Britain, USA, Canada, Mexico
The tournament kicks off September 18th at BC Place.
from World Rugby
Twelve-team HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series mens event will take place alongside a womens Fast Four tournament at BC Place in Vancouver on 18-19 September
Mens Pool A sees 2020 Series runners-up South Africa drawn with Series core teams Kenya and Spain and invitational team Mexico
In Pool B, Great Britain will face Ireland and invitational teams Hong Kong and Jamaica.
Pool C features the USA, Series runners-up in 2019, hosts Canada and invitational teams Germany and Chile
Strong line-up for the womens Fast Four tournament with Canada, Great Britain, the USA and Mexico participating
Action begins with Great Britain v USA women at 09:00 on Saturday with the womens final on Sunday at 16:56, followed by the mens final at 17:28 (all times local, GMT-7)
The pools and match schedule have been confirmed for the HSBC Canada Sevens on 18-19 September, where a 12-team HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series mens event will take place alongside a womens Fast Four tournament at BC Place in Vancouver.
VIEW HSBC CANADA SEVENS POOLS AND MATCH SCHEDULE >>
Many of the Series core teams who competed at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in July will return to action in Canada, alongside a number of invitational teams who will be looking to gain experience and make their mark on the Series.
The mens Series competition sees the 12 teams divided into three pools of four teams, following the format used at the Olympic Games.
Pool A sees South Africa, who finished as 2020 Series runners-up after reaching the podium in four of the six events, drawn with Series core teams Kenya and Spain and invitational team Mexico.
In Pool B, Great Britain, who narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal after finishing fourth in Tokyo, will face Ireland and invitational teams Hong Kong and Jamaica.
Pool C includes the USA, Series runners-up in 2019, together with hosts Canada and invitational teams Germany and Chile. The hosts will be looking to repeat their performance from the HSBC Canada Sevens 2020 in Vancouver, where they thrilled the home crowd to claim the bronze medal.
There is a strong line-up for the womens Fast Four tournament with Canada, Great Britain, the USA and Mexico participating. Mexico mens and womens teams were added to the event following the late withdrawal of Frances teams due to Covid-19 related international travel logistics issues.
The womens fast four competition format, which was previously successfully employed at the mens Series event in Hamilton in 2019, will see all teams play each other before the top two play for gold and the other two teams compete for third place.
The womens competition will get the action under way when Great Britain face the USA at 09:00 local time (GMT-7) on Saturday 18 September. The mens Series event begins with a Pool B encounter between Ireland and Hong Kong at 09:44 local time. The last match of day one promises to be an exciting encounter as hosts Canada take on the USA in Pool C at 18:33 local time.
Day two begins with the first of the mens quarter-finals kicking off at 09:20 and concludes with the womens Fast Four final at 16:56 followed by the mens final at 17:28 (all times local).
The Vancouver tournament will be followed by a second HSBC Canada Sevens event in Edmonton the following weekend, on 25-26 September. The two rounds in Canada form the 2021 Series, with the Series title awarded in Edmonton.
Given the unique circumstances of the pandemic, there will be no relegation from the 2021 Series and the results will not contribute towards seedings for any other future events.
The complete HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 schedule will be announced later this month. Rugby sevens players and fans can look forward to a very busy and exciting year in 2022 with the Series followed by the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, on 29-31 July and Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town, South Africa, on 9-11 September.