Ireland to host series qualifiers

The tournament will be held in UCD on the 22nd and 23rd of August with games taking place at the UCD Bowl, which has a capacity of up to 3,000 supporters.

Ireland will be among the favourites to take one of the remaining spots on the series but they will face tough competition at an event that also includesBrazil, China, Colombia, Hong Kong,  Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, Samoa, South Africa and Wales.

Of the 12, China and South Africa have been on the series for the past year so their experience could be important and Brazil too has plenty of recent series experience.

The announcement follows the decision to award the Irish Rugby Football Union and Ulster Rugby the Women's Rugby World Cup 2017 which will be held at in Dublin and Belfast in August 2017.

World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset said:"With the 2016 Olympic Games looming large on the horizon and the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series now an important and popular fixture on the international rugby calendar, this qualifying tournament in Dublin is extremely important for World Rugby and of course the individual teams involved.”"Competition is fierce at this level and it is very encouraging to see that the overall standard of the women's game is rising all the time. There have never been so many exciting opportunities for women's sevens players as there are today. The series, the Olympics and of course Rugby World Cup Sevens mean the world's best female players are in the public eye more than ever before. This in turn is attracting more players, spectators and commercial partners into the game, which is having a significant, beneficial effect.”"I would like to thank the IRFU for hosting this tournament and I've no doubt all the teams will be working hard in preparation as they seek to qualify for next season's series. For two teams that effort will bear fruit and for the rest I'm sure they will benefit from the experience of competing in an elite, high-intensity, two-day sevens event.”On announcement of their selection IRFU Chief Executive Philip Browne said:"We are delighted with today's announcement that Ireland is going to host the Women's Sevens Dublin Tournament.  UCD is a world class facility and it is a great opportunity to build the women's game on an international stage.This gives us a great opportunity to showcase the game and we look forward to welcoming the International teams to Ireland for what is sure to be a great event.”