Hong Kong Sevens to kick off the World Sevens Series in April 2021
- Hong Kong showpiece set for April 2-4 after the 2020 tournament was cancelled in June because of the coronavirus pandemic
- World Rugby will allocate US$2.5 million among rugby sevens nations that have qualified for Tokyo
The prestige Hong Kong Sevens – the highlight of the local sporting calendar – is poised to kick off the new global sevens calendar in 2021 after months of uncertainty amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
World Rugby on Tuesday called off the Australia and New Zealand legs in Sydney and Hamilton of the men’s and women’s rounds of the HSBC World Sevens Series – originally set for January – because of the “ongoing and dynamic global nature of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
But organisers now hope to kick off a fresh round of the series in Hong Kong on April 2-4 and at the Singapore Sevens on April 10-11 in 2021.
“The effect of Covid-19 continues to impact on the global sporting calendar, including the HSBC World Sevens Series, but with our own local situation stabilising we look forward to hosting the 45th HSBC/Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sevens on April 2-4, and to supporting both our men’s and women’s teams participation in the Olympic repechage,” Hong Kong Rugby Union chief executive officer Robbie McRobbie said.
World Rugby said it would allocate US$2.5 million among rugby sevens nations that have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics to cope with further disruptions to the global sevens calendar because of the coronavirus.