The inaugural Canadian round of the Sevens World Series will take place in Vancouver on March 12-13 next year, organisers said on Tuesday as they announced the dates for the revamped 10-stop 2015/16 season.
The addition of the Canadian round, which will be staged indoors at BC Place, is one of a string of changes to the circuit for the season leading up to rugby’s return to the Olympics with a sevens tournament at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
The Singapore Sevens, which will be held from April 16-17, returns in place of Japan, while the May 14-15 Paris Sevens is also back for the first time in nearly a decade in place of the Scottish leg of the tour.
The South Africa Sevens, which is the second stop on the tour in mid-December, is moving from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town in one of two location switches for existing events.
The other sees the fourth stop in Australia move from the resort city of Gold Coast to the 45,500-seat Sydney Football Stadium on the weekend of February 6-7, the middle of the southern hemisphere summer.
Although the qualifying spots for the Olympics were decided by the final standings from this year’s series, which was won by Fiji, there will be plenty of interest in how the likely medal contenders shape up in the run-up to the Rio Games.
2015/16 Sevens World Series
December 5-6: Dubai, UAE
December 12-13: Cape Town, South Africa
January 30-31: Wellington, New Zealand
February 6-7: Sydney, Australia
March 4-6: Las Vegas, USA
March 12-13: Vancouver, Canada
April 8-10: Hong Kong
April 16-17: Singapore
May 14-15: Paris, France
May 20-22: London, England*
*To be confirmed
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