World Rugby cancels Dubai, South Africa legs over Covid-19 fears

The World Rugby Sevens has cancelled the opening rounds of the 2020/2021 season in Dubai and South Africa owing to the biting Covid-19 ravaging the globe.

The global rugby body said that after comprehensive consultation process and constructive dialogue with the host organisations, it has been decided that the combined men’s and women’s Dubai and Cape Town rounds of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2021, which were provisionally scheduled for 26-28 November and 4-6 December, 2020 respectively, will not take place due to the ongoing and dynamic global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decisions, it argued, were taken in line with relevant government and international public health authority advice and with the health and well-being of the rugby community and the wider public taking precedence.

Both hosts are due to return to a full Series schedule beyond this season.

“World Rugby and its partners continue to focus on delivering the remainder of the 2021 men’s and women’s Series, while working in full collaboration with all stakeholders to closely monitor the ongoing and challenging COVID-19 environment.

A working group chaired by World Rugby Executive Committee and Council member John Jeffrey and including representatives of host and participating unions, players and coaches, has been formed to review contingency plans and evaluate preparations for the safe, secure and impactful return to international rugby sevens competition, and to ensure that the product is the best it can be for hosts, participating unions, broadcasters and commercial partners,” the organization said in its website.

The working group will also review opportunities for HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series events in 2021.

The second division of international rugby sevens was launched in 2020 to promote the global growth of the game and provide a pathway for emerging nations to gain promotion to core status on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, as Japan’s men successfully achieved after claiming the inaugural title in 2020.

With 21 of the 24 teams already qualified for the Olympic rugby sevens competition in Tokyo, planning for the Olympic Repechage final qualification event in the first half of 2021 is ongoing.

Rugby sevens is expected to be one of the hottest tickets of the Tokyo Games, following the huge success of Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan, which captured the nation’s hearts, filled stadiums and created millions of passionate new rugby fans and participants across Japan and Asia.

Courtesy -World Rugby