The highly-anticipated HSBC Cape Town Sevens tournament will take place on the weekend of 10-11 December 2016. World Rugby on Wednesday announced the dates for the 10 global destinations that will comprise the 2016/17 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
The inaugural event was hugely popular with fans last December, with all tickets at the iconic Cape Town Stadium sold out and a capacity crowd cheering on the Blitzboks in their final victory over Argentina.
SA Rugby plans to announce details of ticket sales for the second HSBC Cape Town Sevens in June, shortly after the Castle Lager Incoming Series between the Springboks and Ireland.
Jurie Roux, CEO of SA Rugby, welcomed the announcement and confirmed that the smooth running of the second ever HSBC Cape Town Sevens is well underway.
“We could not ask for much more last year, as South Africans from all across the country came out to support the tournament, as well as a significant number of fans from abroad,” said Roux.
“The feedback we received from the players was very positive but we know there is always room for improvement and we’re already in an advanced stage of planning to ensure we host and even bigger and better event this year.
“Our aim is to surpass the excellent standards we set last year. There is a clear vision to make the HSBC Cape Town Sevens the best event on the circuit and I am happy to say that this is shared by all our stakeholders in this venture.”
The 2015/16 series was the biggest and best to date. More than 715,000 spectators packed the ten venues and with six different winners for the first time, it was also the most competitive and compelling as Fiji claimed the title, with South Africa a close second.
The series’ winning blend of star players, breath-taking action, iconic destinations and festival atmosphere continues to prove a hit with fans, broadcasters and commercial partners alike, with the Cape Town event ticking all the relevant boxes.
Furthermore, 6,000 hours of action was broadcast to fans in more than 100 territories for the first time, and the most socially-engaged with 61 million video views and a 250 per cent increase.
The series will once again kick-off in Dubai (2-3 December), visiting 10 cities across five continents before the series concludes in London on 20-21 May.
The 2016-17 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series schedule is as follows:
Dubai, 2-3 December 2016
Cape Town, 10-11 December 2016
Wellington, 28-29 January 2017
Sydney, 4-5 February 2017
Las Vegas, 3-5 March 2017
Vancouver, 11-12 March 2017
Hong Kong, 7-9 April 2017
Singapore, 15-16 April 2017
Paris, 13-14 May 2017
London, 20-21 May 2017
