Cape Town – The Cape Town Sevens rugby tournament will take place on the weekend of 12 and 13 December, World Rugby announced in Paris when it confirmed the new schedule for the 2015/16 season.
At a major announcement in the French capital, World Rugby confirmed the Cape Town dates in a schedule featuring iconic locations which now also includes Sydney, Paris, Singapore and Vancouver as other new venues on the circuit.
The Cape Town Sevens will be the second leg of the global tour – filling its traditional slot in early December, a week after the Series opener in Dubai.
Saru announced that tickets for the event would go on sale on Tuesday, 4 August, through Computicket outlets. Details of prices and initiatives such as a family stand will be released at a ticket launch in due course.
Jurie Roux, CEO of Saru, said there had been huge interest from supporters and corporate South Africa since the announcement in March that Cape Town would host the SA leg of the World Series.
“The excitement started to build immediately,” he said. “There has been huge interest from supporters in the Mother City as well as from fans from elsewhere and we are expecting a major influx of rugby supporters from outside the Western Cape and also from overseas. Our offices have been taking daily calls requesting the dates and hoping to book hospitality for the event.
“Now that the dates for the Cape Town Sevens are confirmed as 12 and 13 December, the anticipation is only likely to grow. We expect the conversation to move pretty quickly from “when can I buy a ticket?” to “have you got your ticket?
“We‘re hopeful that the Cape Town Sevens will quickly establish itself as one of the “must-do” dates on the Cape Town and World Sevens Series events calendar.”
Garreth Bloor, Cape Town City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events and Economic Development, said: “We’re very excited that the dates for the South African leg have now been confirmed.
“Cape Town is ready to roll out the red carpet and welcome the players and fans from across the world. Cape Town literally has something for everyone on every budget at that time of the year. The Cape Town Sevens will complement a vibrant time in the City with so much going on, such as open-air entertainment, beer, food and wine festivals and our fabulous natural attractions.”
World Rugby meanwhile announced it had extended its partnership with HSBC as title sponsor of the Series for a further four years. It has also acquired the naming right to the Women’s Series.
Details of the locations and dates for the 2015/16 HSBC Women’s World Ruby Sevens Series will be announced shortly by World Rugby.
In a year that will also see Sevens making its debut at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, the Series champion will be crowned in London, where the final tournament is set for 20 – 22 May 2016.
2015/16 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series schedule
· Round 1: Dubai: 3-4 December
· Round 2: Cape Town: 12-13 December
· Round 3: Wellington: 30 – 31 January
· Round 4: Sydney: 6-7 February
· Round 5: Las Vegas: 4, 5, 6 March
· Round 6: Vancouver: 12-13 March
· Round 7: Hong Kong: 8-9-10 April
· Round 8: Singapore: 16-17 April
· Round 9: Paris: 14-15 May
· Round 10: London: 20-22 May *TBC - ANA