The announcement brings the number of rounds on the women’s series to six, with the season kicking off in Dubai on Thursday.
World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “It’s great to see the top women’s teams visit Las Vegas. The women’s series has gone from strength to strength every season and captivated Olympic audiences with its exciting, high-quality rugby. The series is sure to grow even further and fans in the USA are in for a treat when the women’s series links up with the men’s in Las Vegas.”
USA Rugby Chief Executive Dan Payne said: “We are very proud to combine the men’s and women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series for what will be an unforgettable weekend next March. The tournament in Las Vegas has become not just the largest rugby event in the United States, but one of the biggest overall weekends in Las Vegas in terms of tourism and spending, and this will just add another level of elite competition, pageantry and interest to the city and to our fast-growing sport.”
The fifth women’s series gets underway on Dubai on 1-2 December, before moving to Sydney on 3-4 February, 2017. After Las Vegas, the series goes to Kitakyushu, Japan, for the first time on 22-23 April. The penultimate round takes place in Langford, Canada, on 27-28 May before the series finishes up in Clermont-Ferrand, France, on 24-25 June.
At the end of yet another record-breaking season in 2015-16, Australia made history by being crowned the country’s first series champions in Clermont-Ferrand in May, before beating New Zealand to win Olympic gold in Rio, igniting a new passion for the game and creating millions of new fans across the world.
The series itself saw record numbers of social media engagement with fans across the world, while this season will see the action broadcast to more than 100 countries across the globe.
HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series 2016-17 dates and venues:
Dubai: 1-2 December, 2016
Sydney: 3-4 February, 2017
Las Vegas: 3-5 March
Kitakyushu: 22-23 April
Langford: 27-28 May
Clermont-Ferrand: 24-25 June
Courtesy of World Rugby
