‘Long overdue’: Three-leg African Sevens Series on the cards

In massive news for the shorter format of rugby, plans are currently underway to expand the sevens footprint in Africa with a new three-leg sevens series, featuring local nations.

Revealed by Kenyan Rugby Union’s Director of Fixtures, Leslie Mwangale, discussions are reportedly at an advanced stage, with plans for the series to be played from September to November.

The format would follow a similar style to the SVNS 2 competition, with a points-based system playing out across the three competitions and the winner being crowned based on the combined performance across the three legs.

Currently under consideration for venues by the Confederation of African Rugby are Zambia or Zimbabwe, with Uganda and Kenya likely locked in to take two of the legs, the series tying up with the established Safari Sevens in Nairobi.

“The Africa circuit is long overdue owing to the rise and development of the shorter version of the game on the continent,” Mwangale said to Kenyan news outlet The Star.

“We have had discussions among rugby-playing nations to see how we can give teams exposure as well as improve sevens rugby.

“We hope that within the next two to three months it will be firmed up.”

The current series proposal comes at a good time, as the Blitzboks are currently leading the men’s HSBC SVNS World Championship, but also with Kenya also making the quarter finals in Hong Kong and being in the mix to qualify for the World Series.

South Africa is also in the mix in the women’s competition, although they will have to produce several big performances in Valladolid and Bordeaux to be in the running for the World Series.

Mwangale indicated that it was ambiguous whether a women’s sevens competition would be part of the new series in 2026.

However, he believes the time was right to build up the local format, following the huge success of SVNS 2 being launched in Nairobi, which saw over 10,000 fans in attendance.

Citing local tournaments across the world as a major reason for the success of respective nations like Australia and New Zealand, Mwangale believes the establishment of an annual tournament will reap rewards quickly on the international stage.

“If you look at other regions, there are series for teams in Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania, and these have played a critical role in the development of the game in those regions,” Mwangale explained.

“Africa as a continent must follow suit.

“As a country, we [Kenyan Rugby Union] are hosting major tournaments such as the sevens, the Africa Cup Women’s tournament, which starts next weekend, as well as the Safari Sevens, which has been held for the past 30 years.

“In terms of infrastructure, we are more than ready for a series of this magnitude.”

Current teams being considered are national sevens sides from Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Tunisia.

South Africa is likely to include an Emerging Springboks side, and Kenya will plan to include two sides, which they have done as part of the Safari Sevens.