Like tennis, there could be a Grand Slam of rugby sevens tournaments dotted around the world in the near future if organisers of the Air France Sevens are able to convince the rest of the major tournaments to join together to form a circuit. This is the dream of the people behind the first international sevens tournament to be held in continental Europe - to get the Hong Kong Sevens, the Dubai Sevens, the Japan Sevens and the Punta del Este Sevens into one annual circuit, to determine the best sevens nation in the world. 'It is an ambitious plan, but I know that this is the way to go. There must be a relationship between these five tournaments some time in the near future,' said William Jefferson, co-ordinator of the Air France Sevens. 'We have invited officials from all these countries and we will sit down and talk about it some time this weekend. Hopefully something good can come about from these discussions,' added Jefferson who has represented the American Eagles and French Barbarians at the Hong Kong Sevens. It is not known whether the International Rugby Board would give its blessings to the idea of an annual circuit as it might take away some of the lustre from their four-yearly Sevens World Cup. The second World Cup is next year in Hong Kong. 'But see what has happened right here in France. For the first time we are having an international sevens tournament and this has been organised in less than four months . . . anything can happen in the future. 'Right now our aim is to create a major sevens tournament. We are not trying to surpass or compete with the Hong Kong Sevens. All that we are trying to do is have a tournament equally good as the Hong Kong Sevens and then create a Grand Slam,' Jefferson added. The Air France Sevens has the backing of the French Rugby Federation (FFR). Its president, Bernard Lapasset yesterday said that the FFR would work hard to see that sevens rugby takes on an important role in the country's overall development. It is at the Charlety Stadium that the two-day event will be held. The tournament has been fashioned on the same lines as the old Hong Kong Sevens. The 24 teams are split into eight groups of three. The first day's round robin will be followed by Cup, Plate and Bowl knockouts.
