The sad impact of the pandemic has seen the dates of the HSBC Sevens 2021 series rescheduled, the Hong Kong 7 canceled.

“While it is obviously very disappointing not to be able to host two of our Sevens Series events scheduled for Hong Kong and Paris in 2021, the decisions were made with the health and well-being of the rugby community and the general public as a top priority and after extensive consultation with host organizations, participating federations and relevant government bodies, ”said World Rugby Managing Director Alan Gilpin.

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The changed dates now see the annual championship reduced to five men’s events and two women’s events in 2021. While short, it’s at least a competition for men and women to plan ahead. World Rugby would have been disappointed with tournaments that had to be canceled, especially as Hong Kong is often seen as the emotional hotbed [mecca] for rugby sevens. Paris was also an important venue, as the city prepares for the next Rugby World Cup and the next Olympic Games.

Good news, however, showed that there remains a solid schedule for the return of rugby sevens.

HSBC Sevens 2021 series dates postponed

This includes HSBC Sevens Series action on September 18-19 at BC Place in Vancouver hosts the first event of the 2021 series, which sees a men’s series event combined with a quick four * women’s tournament.

The following weekend, September 25-26, teams will change venues in Canada to compete again at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, which will host an HSBC World Rugby event for the first time.

After that, the series heads to Singapore and the season ends in December, with the regular Dubai / Cape Town swing events spanning two weekends. The Sevens Stadium in Dubai will once again want to fill their hall with incoming 7s tourists and bring the party back to the center of the Middle East.

We can’t wait to welcome everyone back to the desert for a BIGGER AND BOLDER Dubai 7 in December!

Corn…. who are you most looking forward to seeing on pitch 1?# Dubai7s # 7sWillReturn pic.twitter.com/E88Z9ixlcs

– Emirates Dubai 7s (@ Dubai7s) August 18, 2021

Among the points detailed in World Rugby’s press release were:

• The Cathay Pacific / HSBC Hong Kong Sevens will not take place in November 2021 due to the impacts of Covid-19, however, the popular event will revert to the series from April 1-3, 2022
• The HSBC Paris Sevens women’s event, originally scheduled for May, will also not take place in 2021, meaning a total of five men’s events and two women’s events are expected to take place in the last four months of 2021. .

Gilpin also said: “The future of Rugby Sevens is very bright and players, teams and fans can look forward to a very busy and exciting year in 2022 when the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series will be followed by the Cup. Rugby Sevens World Championships in Cape Town and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England ”.

* the teams invited for the program Women’s four rapids tournaments in Vancouver and Edmonton are to be confirmed. Depending on travel restrictions, fans are hoping the Canadians can avenge their poor performance in Tokyo, where they finished in a poor ninth place after several poor results.

If the gold medalist New Zealand team can get permission to travel, there would be more opportunities for Sevens fans to see the Champion team. Last Word on Rugby will confirm invited teams as soon as information becomes available.

The hope is that 2021 will once again demonstrate how crucial the HSBC Sevens 2021 series is to build on the fun that sports fans around the world felt watching the seven-a-side game at the Tokyo Olympics.

“Main image graphic courtesy of World Rugby”