The innovative ‘winner takes all’ knock-out competition format first introduced at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 means every match counts as teams will need to win every time they enter the pitch in order to become world champions.
Richie Pugh’s Wales side, who qualified for the World Cup last weekend in Bucharest, will take on Korea in the qualification round. All teams seeded from nine to 24 play in the qualification round before progressing to the round of 16 where they will take on the top eight seeded teams, while the losers will go into the Bowl competition which will decide positions 17 to 24.
If Wales can brush aside Korea, the daunting prospect of Fiji awaits them in the main draw.
Hosts South Africa are top seeds in men’s tournament following a remarkable 36-match winning streak which saw them win six rounds of the World Series in a row across 2021-2022. However they will face stiff competition with Australia seeded second and double Olympic champions Fiji seeded third. New Zealand are the reigning men’s champions and are seeded fifth coming in to the event.
The seedings for both men’s and women’s competitions were based on points accrued during the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in 2020 and 2022, while teams who do not participate on the Series were seeded using their rankings gained at the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2020 in conjunction with regional ranking positions ending in July 2022.
World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin said: “The release of the match schedule with 50 days to go is a really exciting moment on the road to Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 in Cape Town. Players, teams and fans can now fine-tune their plans and prepare for what promises to be a truly spectacular three day showcase of world class rugby sevens.
“With its iconic location, and passionate, international fanbase, the first Rugby World Cup in South Africa since that special event in 1995 promises to be another must watch, history making celebration of rugby’s power to unite and inspire people from all countries and backgrounds.
“Rugby Sevens is an incredibly fast, skilful, dynamic and dramatic sport, which continues to grow in popularity around the world following a second highly impactful Olympic Games competition in Tokyo last year.”
