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World Rugby insist controversial changes to the Sevens format will not be revoked
World Rugby insist controversial changes to the Sevens Series format will not be revoked despite anger from coaches and players who now face truncated legs in Hamilton and Sydney, with the quarter-finals stage erased from the schedule.
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The four pool winners in New Zealand and Australia will qualify automatically for the semi-finals.
South African media reports claim coaches and players are considering taking their grievances to the International Court of Sport Arbitration (CAS) to try and get the move overturned.
'I’ve made it very clear to them what it is going to take for them to get selected'
Andy Farrell setting out his stall straight away as Ireland head coach.https://t.co/Fqt0BYAVjr
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 23, 2019
Critics of the changes claim the insistence on running the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series men’s and women’s events together has meant that unless tournaments can run for three days – as happened in Cape Town – there isn’t the time to fit in the last eight round. That is why for the next legs in Hamilton (Jan 25-26) and Sydney (Feb 1-2) – being staged over two days – the pool winners in the men’s events head straight to the final four. World Rugby believe the new format will deliver a less confusing final day for fans.
The Hamilton draw has put holders Fiji in the same pool as Australia and Argentina with just one team qualifying for the semi-finals with New Zealand in a pool with USA and South Africa paired with England. New Zealand and South Africa currently lead the men’s table on 41 points each, with defending champions Fiji in sixth place.
A World Rugby spokesman told RugbyPass: “The situation remains that quarter-finals will not take place in Hamilton and Sydney. This was discussed last year and we are trying to deliver more men’s and women’s events to create greater synergy. We want to create more opportunities for the women’s game as well and it is a fine balance.”
In the 2019 Rugby World Cup final, the ball came back to the scrum-halves over 130 times. Each scrum-half ran with the ball only twice.https://t.co/va973Vudyy
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 23, 2019
Sevens experts have made it clear the quarter-finals are central to the excitement generated by the Series and the decision to truncate the next two legs will be counter-productive and reduce television exposure. There are also important ranking points to fight for in the race for the overall title and this now becomes muddied by the change format which comes after two rounds – Dubai and Cape Town – have already been played with quarter-finals taking place in both.
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The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 has a record six combined men’s and women’s events with the number of women’s tournaments increasing to eight, with the men’s set at 10 rounds.
The series also forms a crucial part of Olympic preparation for the teams as they build up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the end of July. The decision to end quarter-finals for Hamilton and Sydney comes as the game’s governing body launches the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series.
This is what the 12 Premiership clubs are asking Santa for this Christmas, as revealed by @alexshawsport https://t.co/S3VSW9m65Y
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 23, 2019
Countries such as Brazil, Chile, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Mexico, Tonga, Uganda and Zimbabwe are involved and will all take part in the Olympic repechage in June 2020 to try and secure the final qualification place for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The Challenger Series is launched in February with 13 core teams from the six World Rugby regions competing over two rounds alongside three invitational teams.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “We are thrilled to launch the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in a pivotal year for rugby sevens ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Rugby sevens continues to attract new fans around the globe with its fast-paced, athletic and highly skilled format. The new Sevens Challenger Series will help to develop the next generation of players and bring international sevens events to new nations, further growing the popularity of our Olympic sport around the world.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments