The International Rugby Board (IRB) has announced the dates for the HSBC Sevens World Series 2013/14, with another season set to kick off on Australia’s Gold Coast and climax in London, England.
The 15th edition of the record-breaking Series will visit the same nine countries as in 2012/13, although there are two changes in the order of rounds.
The first three events at the end of 2013 remain unchanged with Australia’s standing alone in October before the Dubai-South Africa double-header. In 2014, the Series will visit the USA before New Zealand and then Japan before Hong Kong. The final two tournaments will again be in Scotland and England.
IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “With its Olympic credentials boosting rugby’s landscape around the world Rugby Sevens is growing all the time, as we saw last weekend in London with world record crowds of 71,898 on day one and 113,025 over the two days.
“Throughout the 2012/13 Series we have seen once again how rugby fans are supporting these magnificent events, either attending in their many thousands or contributing to more record broadcast figures around the world, with a 10% increase in live coverage.
“As we continue on our countdown to Rugby Sevens’ Olympic debut in Rio in 2016, we are delighted to have nine such strong tournaments showcasing these world class athletes and the strength of competition between them.
“Our congratulations go to New Zealand on winning their 11th Series title, and to Scotland, Spain and Portugal for winning core team status for the 2013/14 Series, which is set to be more competitive than ever.”
Giles Morgan, Group Head of Sponsorship & Events, HSBC Holdings plc said: “This will be HSBC’s fourth season as title sponsor of the Series and we have seen it go from strength to strength over that time. There were record attendances, record broadcast figures and even more competition on the pitch last season and we are looking forward to returning to the nine tournaments next season to hopefully build on this and see even more growth. HSBC is committed to helping the growth and development of the sport all around the world and is looking forward to another record breaking Series in 2013/14.”
HSBC Sevens World Series 2013/14
Round 1 Australia (Gold Coast) 12-13 Oct 2013
Round 2 Dubai 29-30 Nov2013
Round 3 South Africa (Port Elizabeth) 7-8 Dec 2013
Round 4 USA (Las Vegas) 24-26 Jan 2014
Round 5 New Zealand (Wellington) 7-8 Feb 2014
Round 6 Japan (Tokyo) 22-23 Mar 2014
Round 7 Hong Kong 28-30 Mar 2014
Round 8 Scotland (Glasgow) 3-4 May 2014
Round 9 England (London) 10-11 May 2014
