Cape Town 7s makes comeback after three year hiatus

After three years of not taking place, the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series will make its comeback in Cape Town, South Africa this weekend with a three-day event lined up from 9-11 December 2022 as the race for Series glory and the all-important Olympic qualification spots hots up. 

Hosts South Africa will enter the men’s competition in confident mood following their outstanding comeback performance to claim the title in Dubai last weekend and are top of the Series standings after two of the eleven rounds.

With the team also backed by a famously noisy and supportive home crowd, the Blitzboks will be sure to put on a show in Cape Town.

South Africa men’s captain Siviwe Soyizwapi said: “It is wonderful to have the HSBC Cape Town Sevens back in town. We were very lucky to host the Rugby World Cup Sevens only a couple of months ago and were really grateful for that experience, but somehow this feels different.

The vibe around the city is different and I think, having done well in Dubai last weekend, the mood in our team as well.”

“We did not do well at the World Cup Sevens, so we have this opportunity to fix that so soon after. We owe our supporters a good showing and will have to be at our very best if we want to do that.

The standard of the World Series is so high at the moment and every game against any team can go either way. I think it is great for the spectators and the thousands of people expected this weekend will have some very exciting matches to watch,” he added.

The men’s pool draw for Cape Town sees South Africa in Pool A together with France, double Olympic champions Fiji and Canada.

Pool B includes Ireland, who were beaten finalists in Dubai, alongside Samoa, Uruguay and Japan.

New Zealand are in Pool C alongside Argentina, Kenya and Spain while the USA, reigning Series champions Australia, Great Britain and Uganda are in Pool D.

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New Zealand are defending both the men’s and women’s HSBC Cape Town Sevens titles, having beaten South Africa and Australia respectively in the finals the last time the tournament was hosted in the Mother City in December 2019, prior to the onset of the global pandemic.

The 2023 Series is shaping up to be the biggest, most competitive and compelling to date with more at stake than ever before as the top four ranked men’s and women’s teams will earn qualification for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

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At the other end of the table in the men’s competition the number of teams for the 2024 Series will reduce from 16 to 12 to equal the number of women’s teams and align with the Olympic competition structure, meaning fans can expect an intense battle to avoid relegation throughout the 2023 Series with every match and every point counting towards the final Series rankings.