The Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 will be held in South Africa after the World Rugby Council awarded the hosting rights for the tournament at a meeting in Tokyo.
In September 2022 the eighth edition of the showcase event will take place in Cape Town in what will be the first time that Rugby World Cup Sevens has been hosted on the African continent.
The world’s best 24 men’s and 16 women’s rugby sevens teams will take to the field at the Cape Town Stadium in Green Point where they will compete for world champion status over three days of exhilarating action.
The 55,000-capacity stadium is the same venue that has hosted the HSBC Cape Town Sevens since 2015, and for the first time this year will host both men’s and women’s teams across three days of competition as part of the new-look HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
Reactions to South Africa’s hosting win
Sir Bill Beaumont, World Rugby chairman
“Congratulations to South Africa on being elected Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 hosts. We were impressed with South Africa’s detailed and comprehensive bid and we look forward to working in partnership with them on another inspiring and record-breaking tournament.
“South Africa has a proven track record of delivering a sell-out event in the HSBC Cape Town Sevens, which is an esteemed tournament on the world series and will be of huge value to the planning and execution of Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022.
“About to make its second appearance on the Olympic Games programme at Tokyo 2020, rugby sevens is an innovative and thriving format of the game that has enormous appeal, and we are excited about the positive impact that another successful Rugby World Cup Sevens will have on our sport.”
Jurie Roux, SA Rugby CEO
“We’re delighted that South Africa and Cape Town has been confirmed as hosts for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022. We have been eager to host global rugby tournaments for a number of years and to have the flagship event in the growing sport of sevens come to South Africa is exciting.
“We saw how the sport engaged the audience in San Francisco last year and we are certain that it will be just as big a success in Cape Town. The HSBC Cape Town Sevens has established itself as a rugby bucket-list tournament in the past few years and we’re sure that international visitors to the event will experience a great tournament at an ideal rugby venue in a fantastic city.”
Image (from left to right): Jurie Roux (SARU), Sir Bill Beaumont (World Rugby), Mark Alexander (SARU) and Khaled Babbou (Rugby Africa)