Dubai Sevens line-up confirmed by IRB
Brazil, China, France, Russia, Spain and South Africa (pictured) have been invited by the IRB to join the six core teams for the inaugural leg of the first ever IRB Women's Sevens World Series (WSWS) in Dubai.
Published by Scrum Queens, October 11th, 2012
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The invited six sides will join core teams Australia, Canada, England, Netherlands, New Zealand and USA at the historic first event, which will run parallel to the mens version in Dubai.
The WSWS will then split off from the mens series with later rounds taking place in USA (Houston), China (Guangzhou) and Netherlands (Amsterdam).
The WSWS was announced last month.
IRB Chief Executive Brett Gosper said: These six teams have been selected based on rankings achieved in their respective regional tournaments over the past 12 months in addition to ensuring that those teams that have qualified for RWC Sevens 2013 get an opportunity to participate in major international Sevens tournaments prior to arriving in Moscow next June.
The launch of the IRB Women's Sevens World Series is the most significant investment in women's Rugby that the IRB has ever undertaken resulting in an annual investment of US$1.5 million. As we move closer to Rio 2016, interest in the women's Game is at an all-time high and the IRB is committed to providing our female athletes with the best possible opportunities to improve their competiveness and identify the players who will ultimately appear on the Olympic stage in Rio.
The teams invited to compete in the other legs of the series will be announced at a later date.