Hong Kong’s men’s sevens team will be a part of World Rugby’s Sevens Challenger Series which looks to boost the second tier of teams across the globe and expand the sevens game heading into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The series will take place over two legs in South America in Vina del Mar, Chile, (February 15-16) and Montevideo, Uruguay, (February 22-23) and will set placement seeding for the qualifying portion of the World Rugby Sevens Series, which will be held at the 2020 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens from April 3 to 5. Hong Kong will join Brazil, Chile, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Tonga, Uganda, Uruguay and Zimbabwe, with the top eight making it through to the final. Hong Kong narrowly missed out on qualifying for the World Series last year after losing to Ireland in the final game while beating Chile and Tonga en route. Hong Kong lost to South Korea in extra time early in December a a match to determine who qualified for the second Asia spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They will get another shot in a repechage next summer in France against much stiffer competition, which will include Chile, China, Tonga and Ireland, to name a few. HKRU chief executive officer Robbie McRobbie said this series will give them another chance to try and take the men’s sevens programme to the elite level, a goal they have been aiming at for years. “We’ve come agonisingly close over the past few years, as you know,” said McRobbie. “There is no doubt that more competition at a higher level better prepares teams going into the Series, so from that stand point we welcome the Challenger Series. Our team is already well supported and resourced through the HKSI [Hong Kong Sports Institute], so it won’t have any effect on that. We’re excited to be taking part, and look forward to a good competition.” The 2019-2020 World Rugby HSBC Sevens Series is three legs in. New Zealand sit on top, with Australia second and the US third. The next tournament takes place in Hamilton, New Zealand, which will also feature the women’s side. A separate announcement for the women is expected soon. The women’s competition on the series has been expanded from six to eight rounds this season and will be a part of the 2020 Hong Kong Sevens tournament alongside the men.