Cape Town - There will be no time for slow starts during the much-anticipated Rugby World Cup Sevens showpiece in Cape Town.
The first Sevens World Cup to be hosted in Africa - from September 9 to 12 - will feature the same knock-out format that was first introduced at the 2018 spectacle in the United States. This means that teams will have to win every game in order to have a chance of lifting the Melrose Cup.
The 24-team men's competition will start with a qualification round on Day One, with the teams seeded ninth to 16th battling it out.
The top eight teams from that round will then go up against top eight seeds, while the losing teams will compete in the Bowl competition to determine positions 17 to 24.
In the women's division, the 16-team tournament will start with the round of 16 knock-out matches based on seedings on the first day of competition.
The Blitzboks will face Germany or Chile in their opening game, while the Springbok Women’s side will be up against France in their first encounter of the showpiece
Hosts South Africa are top seeds in men’s tournament after winning six rounds of the World Series in a row across the 2021-2022 season. During that time, the Springbok Sevens side also boasted a 36-match winning streak.
Sevens giants and double Olympic champions Fiji, who are seeded third, reigning RWC Sevens men's champions New Zealand (fifth), the and second-seeded Australia will all add to the competitiveness of the men's competition.
The men’s teams qualified by finishing in the top eight at the last RWC Sevens in 2018 as well as through regional qualification tournaments. Women’s teams qualified either via finishing in the top four at the last RWC Sevens in 2018, or through regional qualification tournaments.
The seedings for both men’s and women’s competitions were based on points accrued during the World Sevens Series in 2020 and 2022, while teams who do not participate on the series were seeded using their rankings gained at World Rugby Sevens events and regional ranking positions ending in July 2022.
World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin said: “The release of the match schedule with 50 days to go is a really exciting moment on the road to Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 in Cape Town. Players, teams and fans can now fine-tune their plans and prepare for what promises to be a truly spectacular three day showcase of world class rugby Sevens.
“With its iconic location, and passionate, international fanbase, the first Rugby World Cup in South Africa since that special event in 1995 promises to be another must watch, history-making celebration of rugby’s power to unite and inspire people from all countries and backgrounds.
“Rugby Sevens is an incredibly fast, skilful, dynamic and dramatic sport, which continues to grow in popularity around the world following a second highly impactful Olympic Games competition in Tokyo last year.”
Remaining tickets are available at www.rwcsevens.com.
IOL Sport