Kenya Rugby Sevens to Use Regional Route for 2016 Olympic Games Qualifier

The top four teams in both the men’s and women’s competitions at the close of this series automatic qualification to Rio where they will join hosts Brazil.

A men’s and a women’s team will qualify from each of the six regional Olympic qualification tournaments, that will take place between June and November 2015.

Johannesburg will play host to the African women’s and men’s qualifiers. Kenya’s Lionesses will look to secure Olympic qualification on September 26/27 while the men who will not make the top four when the current series season draws to a close will target qualification on November 14/15 in the City of Gold.

 Qualifiers Secure

World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset said:  ‘This exciting announcement marks another significant milestone as the global rugby family counts down to rugby sevens’ Olympic Games debut at Rio 2016 when we will see rugby’s first  Olympians in more than 92 years competing on sport’s greatest stage.  With rugby sevens enjoying unprecedented global profile and growth and the men’s and women’s Sevens World Series set to go down to the wire in this, the mostcompelling of rugby sevens’ years, I am sure that the regional Olympic qualifiers will be extremely competitive, underscoring the tremendous depth of competition around the globe.’

Fittingly, with the Games taking place in Rio, it is South America who will provide the first regional qualifiers with the men’s and women’s tournaments taking place in Santa Fe, Argentina from 5-7 June.  The men’s and women’s North America and the Caribbean qualification tournament will follow in Cary, North Carolina, USA, from 13-14 June, while Europe’s women representatives will be confirmed in Brive, France, from 20-21 June with the men confirmed in Exeter, England, from 11-12 July.  The women’s qualifier from Africa will be confirmed at the African women’s qualification tournament which will take place in Johannesburg from 26-27 September.

Qualification will take a break during Rugby World Cup 2015 before resuming with the Asia men’s qualifier in Hong Kong from 7-8 November.  On the following weekend, 14-15 November, the Oceania men’s and women’s qualifier will be held in Auckland, New Zealand and the African men’s qualifier will take place in Johannesburg.  Asia will deliver the final women’s regional qualifier to book their place at Rio 2016 at the conclusion of the Tokyo Women’s Sevens tournament from 28-29 November.

The 12th and final place in both the men’s and women’s Olympic Games rugby sevens competitions will be determined via a World Rugby final repechage tournament which will take place before the end of June 2016 (date and location to be confirmed by 31 December, 2015). 

Courtesy Kenya Rugby Union