Sevens World Cup coup

Cape Town named as hosts of 2022 premier global rugby tournament

IN GREAT news for South African rugby fans, Cape Town was yesterday named as the host of the 2022 Sevens World Cup.

SA Rugby chief executive Jurie Roux said they’re excited to host the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town as Saru (SA Rugby Union) have “been eager to host global rugby tournaments for a number of years”.

South Africa missed out on hosting the 2023 Rugby World Cup despite being unanimously recommended by World Rugby’s board as the preferred hosts.

France ended up winning the rights to host the global showpiece after securing a majority council vote.

This time, South Africa was chosen out of 11 other unions including France, to host the major Sevens event.

Argentina, Cayman Islands, France,

Germany, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Qatar, Scotland and Tunisia all confirmed an interest to the international federation.

The announcement was made in Tokyo yesterday after the World Rugby Council awarded the hosting rights for the premier tournament to South Africa at its interim meeting.

The eighth edition of the event will take place in Cape Town, and it will be a first for the African continent.

“We’re delighted that South Africa and Cape Town has been confirmed as hosts for the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens,” said Roux.

“We have been eager to host global rugby tournaments for a number of years and to have the flagship event in the growing sport of Sevens come to South Africa is exciting.”

Last year’s Sevens World Cup in San Francisco attracted a record attendance for a rugby event in the US.

More than 100 000 fans attended, while there was also a massive domestic broadcast audience of more than nine million viewers.

Roux is confident that South Africa can deliver just as well.

“We saw how the sport engaged the audience in San Francisco last year and we are certain that it will be just as big a success in Cape Town,” he said.

“The Cape Town Sevens has established itself as a rugby bucket-list tournament in the past few years, and we’re sure that international visitors to the event will experience a great tournament at an ideal rugby venue in a fantastic city.”

During the World Cup, 24 men’s and 16 women’s rugby Sevens teams are set to compete at Cape Town Stadium in Green Point, where the annual Cape Town leg of the World Sevens Series is hosted, over three days.

The Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 will be played during September, considering the international calendar, which includes the World Rugby Sevens Series and the Commonwealth Games that takes place in Birmingham, England, in July.

Competition dates will be confirmed in due course.

To have the flagship event in Sevens come to SA is exciting Jurie Roux SA RUGBY CHIEF EXECUTIVE