Two legs missing from World Series

There has been some growing concern about this season's Women's Sevens World Series. Announcements about the dates and venues for the tournaments in the series have emerged very slowly this year and now, with just three weeks to go before the official start in Dubai, World Rugby have launched the series with just four women's dates:

Round 1 - Dubai 3-4 Dec 2015Round 2 - Sao Paulo 20-21 Feb 2016Round 3 - Atlanta 8-9 Apr 2016Round 4 - Langford 16-17 Apr 2016

As things stand this would mean that the series would, for the first time, not visit Europe with both Amsterdam and London missing from the rota, making it the shortest Women's Series since the beginning, a contraction which appears to contradict World Rugby's stated strategic objective to "expand the women's sevens competition model, particularly at the elite level of the game."

In practice the two legs that have been lost are no surprise. London's leg at The Stoop last year - which in effect took place in competition with (instead of alongside) the men's sevens across the road at Twickenham - proved to be unpopular certainly with spectators, and Amsterdam only ever had a three year contract. Following the Netherlands failure to qualify for the Olympics or the World Series it would probably have had to go ahead without the home team taking part as it would have been hard to justify giving them a wild card place.

Fortunately we understand that this may not be the end of the matter. World Rugby tell us that the are still "working hard" to organise at least a fifth leg for the series and that, with the Olympics, there will still be "plenty of top women's sevens action to look forward to".

However it has to be said that the five-match 2014 series was launched with the promise of an extra leg which did not subsequently materialise following the rejection of a hosting bid from Spain, and that even with the Olympics there will be less women's international sevens in 2016 than 2015. Furthermore a four-leg series would probably offer only offer one tournament for the likely three Olympic qualifiers who are not in the World Series (Colombia, Brazil and South Africa or Kenya) giving them little opportunity to prepare for such a major event (we understand that the original plan was to offer each nation two "guest" places in what was always planned to be a six-leg series).

To have such a backward step in such an important year for women's sevens is also of real concern. First because it can hardly impress the new sponsor of the women's series (HSBC) to be given product only two-thirds of the size of last season, though you imagine they are fully involved across both men's and women's, but even more seriously because it appears that so few of the leading women's sevens unions are capable or willing to host a tournament, a situation that can only get worse after the spotlight of the Olympics moves away.

Dubai, the USA and Canada are likely to remain enthusiastic hosts, but whether Brazil will be willing to meet the costs of hosting their leg after Rio must be open to question, especially should they remain outside the group of core teams. Although World Rugby meets most of the expenses, they do not pay for everything and the costs for a small union can be significant. If none of the other existing core (or guest) unions were willing or able to host a round of the series in an Olympic year (because if they were we would not be in this sitiation), how many will be willing to do so in other years of the cycle? Perhaps the time has come again to look at again at tying the women's series more closely to the men's. As other sports, such as tennis and cricket, have shown there are significant advantages in having tournaments for men and women run alongside each other which are not just restricted to costs.

As for the tournaments that we do have in 2015/16, World Rugby's annoucement included the women's draw for Dubai. New Zealand will kick off both their series and Dubai title defences against France, Russia and Brazil in Pool A. Rivals Canada and USA meet in Pool B alsongside Fiji and Ireland while Australia are the top seed in Pool C where they'll face England, Spain and series newcomers Japan.World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: "These are exciting and ground-breaking times for rugby sevens as we head into an Olympic Games year and now is the opportunity for our top men's and women's players to showcase their talents to new audiences on sport's greatest stage. With new iconic locations, new star players and anticipated record attendances, broadcast and social media exposure, never before has there been so much excitement ahead of a new season of sevens. The road to Rio 2016 promises to be both competitive and compelling and I am sure we will attract, engage and inspire record numbers of new fans along the way.”Giles Morgan, Global Head of Sponsorship and Events, HSBC Holdings, said: "HSBC is a committed long-term supporter of rugby and rarely has there been a more exciting moment for the game. Following a spectacular Rugby World Cup, the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series has a unique opportunity to drive the game onwards to the gold medal opportunity of Rio 2016. As rugby sevens breaks into new and unchartered territory, the next 10 months will be the catalyst for even greater growth, participation and engagement. As title sponsors of both the Men's and Women's Series for the first time, we are looking forward to providing support throughout that journey.”Women's series core teams: New Zealand, Canada, Australia, England, USA, France, Russia, Fiji, Spain, Ireland, Japan. Brazil are the guest in Dubai (and will also be in Sau Paulo). The guests for the other legs have yet to be announced.