Shujaa land another tough pool in Dubai 7s as Uganda Cranes get invitation card

The men’s national rugby 7s side Shujaa will have another tough pool awaiting them in the second outing of the 2023 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series set to take place in Dubai from 2-3 December as they were grouped against overall defending champions Australia, heavyweights South Africa and Great Britain in Pool A.

The Damian McGrath currently coached side had a start to forget in the season opening outing in Hong Kong as they finished in last place after losing all five of their encounters against Ireland, Argentina, Canada in the group phase and New Zealand and Uruguay in the playoff place matches.

As a result, the team find themselves rooted at the bottom of the log after collecting only one point in the first round of the season as opponents Australia defeated Fiji to clinch the main cup in Hong Kong as they got their title defense off to the perfect of starts.

In Pool B, arguably the pool of death, Fiji have been grouped against Argentina, New Zealand and newbies Uruguay who will have a huge mountain to climb in their second outing since promotion to the top level after winning the Challenger Series.

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Pool C has France, Ireland, Spain and noisy neighbours Uganda who have been handed the invitational ticket left open for every outing of the campaign this season.

Pool D has Samoa, USA, Canada and Japan completing the teams set to compete in Dubai.

The World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 promises to be the 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 Olympic qualification for Paris 2024, while in the men’s Series 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 in the 2023 Series with every match and every point counting towards their final Series ranking.

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How will relegation be decided from the men’s Series 2023?

The 15th ranked core team based on accumulated Series points following the tenth round in Toulouse will be relegated.

The teams ranked 12th, 13th and 14th at the end of Toulouse will enter a four-team relegation play-off together with the Challenger Series 2023 winners at the eleventh and final round of the Series in London.

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The relegation play-off will be round-robin format with the top two teams then playing a final.

The winner will become the 12th core team on the 2024 Series, while the other three teams will enter their respective Regional Sevens Championships in order to qualify for the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series.

The Challenger Series will continue to provide a pathway for teams to qualify for the World Rugby Sevens Series.