World Rugby has confirmed the schedule for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 as the sport looks to capitalize on the successful Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The 2022 Series will feature 10 men’s and seven women’s rounds over six months, kicking off with a pair of combined men’s and women’s events in Dubai. The Emirates Dubai Sevens will host a no-fans round on 26th-27th November, 2021, followed by a second event on 3rd-4th December with fans in attendance at The Sevens Stadium.
The Series will then return to Europe as Spain plays host for the first time with combined men’s and women’s events in Malaga and Seville on 21st-23rd and 28th-30th January, 2022 respectively. The new venues in Spain temporarily replace traditional Series hosts Sydney, Australia, and Hamilton, New Zealand, who were unable to host in 2022 due to the logistical challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in their region.
The men’s Series continues with North American rounds in Vancouver on 26-27 February and Los Angeles on 5-6 March before moving to Asia where Hong Kong will host a combined men’s and women’s event on 1-3 April. The men’s event will later be in Singapore on 9th-10th April 2022.
A women’s only event will take place in Langford, Canada, on 30 April-1 May before both men’s and women’s teams travel to a new Series venue in Toulouse, France, on 20th-22nd May for women’s Series finals. The men’s Series concludes with the final event in London on 28-29 May.
There are also a few changes with the competing teams, as Japan joins the men’s Series as a core team following their promotion as HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series champions in 2020.
Great Britain will then compete in the opening two rounds of the Series in Dubai, as part of the standing agreement to play the calendar year 2021. England, Scotland and Wales will then participate in the men’s Series and England in the women’s series.
The 16 men’s core teams after the Dubai events are Kenya, Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, USA and Wales.
South Africa will enter the 2022 Series as defending champions after claiming the 2021 title in Edmonton, Canada, in September, while New Zealand, who were unable to compete in Canada, were the 2020 Series winners.
The 11 core women’s teams after the Dubai events are Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Russia, Spain and USA.