The Australian Rugby Union have announced that Sydney is to be the new host of the Australian leg of the Sevens World Series for the next four years, starting from next year. The Allianz Stadium in Moore Park will be the venue, with the actual dates of the event set to be announced at the end of the month.
The Queensland setting for the Australian round had struggled to pull in the crowds with just 20,000 fans turning up to watch over the 2 days last October, so the move from the Gold Coast to Sydney has been greeted with a positive response.
"We are thrilled to be able to bring rugby sevens to Sydney," said Australia Rugby chief Bill Pulver.
"We truly believe that Sydney has the potential to match the excitement surround tournaments like Hong Kong, Twickenham and Wellington in terms of event experience and crowd numbers."
The Sydney event will be held just a few months before Rugby Sevens makes its debut at the Olympics. World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapassest commented:
"I have no doubt that the Sydney Sevens will inspire audiences and participants and contribute to the continued strong growth of the game in Australia and around the world."
South Africa currently lead the Series after five rounds. The last round, held in Las Vegas, saw Fiji reign victorious in front of a location-record 75,000 fans attending across the course of the tournament.
Last years 2013-14 Sevens Series was a record breaking success both on and off the field, with a combined total of 569,262 fans attending the nine events around the world, as well as Sevens being broadcast across 145 countries, with 4,590 hours of coverage.
credit: ARU TV
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