Their Serene Highnesses Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco have drawn the pools for the men’s and women’s Olympic Games rugby sevens repechage events at the magnificent Hotel Hermitage of Monte Carlo.
With excitement building ahead of rugby’s return to the Olympic stage after an absence of 92 years, the repechage events will take place in Monaco (men) on 18-19 June and Dublin (women) on 25-26 June.
The 16-team repechage events will complete the global qualification process, which delivers 11 nations in both the men’s and women’s draw, with Brazil automatically qualifying as hosts.
The tournaments to decide the final qualifier in both the men’s and women’s events at Rio 2016 therefore promise to be very competitive and tense affairs.
Monaco Sevens – Men’s Olympic Games repechage (18-19 June) Stade Louis II
Pool A: Samoa, Zimbabwe, Tonga, Ireland
Pool B: Canada, Germany, Uruguay, Sri Lanka
Pool C: Russia, Chile, Morocco, Tunisia
Pool D: Hong Kong, Spain, Mexico, South Korea
You can buy tickets for the Monaco Sevens here.
Dublin Sevens – Women’s Olympic Games repechage (25-26 June) UCD Bowl
Pool A: Seed 1*, Samoa, Zimbabwe, Madagascar
Pool B: Seed 2*, Mexico, Venezuela, Tunisia
Pool C: Seed 3*, China, Portugal, Trinidad and Tobago
Pool D: Hong Kong, Argentina, Kazakhstan, Cook Islands
* Seeds one-three (Russia, Spain and Ireland) will be confirmed after the final round of the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series in Clermont-Ferrand on 28-29 May
You can buy tickets for the Dublin Sevens here.
Speaking at the draw, World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “In this game-changing year for our sport, rugby sevens continues to reach, engage and inspire new audiences in record levels ahead of our Olympic Games return.
“At the heart of this success story are the feats of the men’s and women’s teams from around the globe who have been inspired by the opportunity to compete at the Games.
“I would like to wish the 32 teams left in the process the very best of luck and look forward to two very compelling and intensely competitive events in Monaco and Dublin.”
Report courtesy of World Rugby
