20 March 2020

Rugby sevens tournaments and World Cup qualifiers postponed

Both this year's men's and women's rugby sevens tournaments have been postponed as well as Olympic and World Cup qualifiers.

The rugby world is shutting down with the majority of English and Irish rugby being cancelled.

World Rugby have announced that the men's London and Paris sevens tournaments have been postponed until September. The women's sevens event in Langford has been called off until further notice.

World Rugby's chairman Bill Beaumont said: “We are in close dialogue with the IOC relating to the conclusion of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games rugby sevens qualification, specifically options to replace the final repechage tournament, should that be required. 

"We have two women’s and one men’s teams left to qualify and are currently considering all options to ensure a fair and credible conclusion to the qualification process.

"Looking at a longer-term strategy, we are in continual dialogue with our unions, regions and the players' association relating to the wider global impact on rugby activities, including financial implications, driven by government and health authority measures to combat the spread of COVID-19. 

“At this extraordinary time, we are united in our commitment to finding ways of ensuring that on-field activity can resume as soon as it is safe and possible to do so. To that end, the World Rugby Executive Committee is driving the implementation of a dedicated action plan that will guide us through this challenging period as a sport unified across the international and domestic environments".

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