The Rugby Sevens World Cup will begin later this week with the participation of 24 of the most successful nations from the men’s series and 16 of the most successful teams from the women’s series.
The eighth iteration of the quadrennial event will take place in South Africa, and New Zealand will compete in both events to defend the titles their teams earned in 2018. South Africa will serve as the host nation for the event.
Here is everything you need to know about the event that will take place in 2022, including when and where it will be played, the list of teams who are expected to participate, and how you can watch the action in the UK:
Dates and locations of the Rugby World Cup Sevens
In the men’s competition, the eight teams that advanced to the quarterfinal stage of the 2018 tournament automatically qualified for the event. In addition, the nation of South Africa that would be hosting the competition also qualified.
After that, there will be a total of 16 continental qualifiers, which will include three contestants from Africa, two contestants from North America, two contestants from South America, two contestants from Asia, four contestants from Europe, and three contestants from Oceania.
The following nations will represent their respective continents at the Rugby World Cup Sevens for men in 2022:
- Africa, South
- States of America
- Argentina
- England
- France
- New Zealand, Scotland, and Fiji.
- Uganda
- Zimbabwe
- Kenya
- Canada
- Jamaica
- Chile
- Uruguay
- Hong Kong
- South Korea (de)
- Germany
- Ireland
- Portugal
- Wales
- Australia
- Samoa
- Tonga
In the women’s competition, the four semi-finalists from the previous year as well as the host nation of the tournament, South Africa, automatically qualify. They are joined by 11 continental qualifiers, one each from Africa, North America, South America, Europe, and Oceania.