Women to play in RWC Sevens

2006-05-03 20:20

Dublin - The International Rugby Board has announced on Wednesday that the Sevens World Cup will have a women's competition for the first time in 2009.

There will be 16 women's teams and 24 men's at the tournament, for which the IRB has yet to name a host.

"The introduction of a women's rugby World Cup sevens, with the aim of providing an elite level of women's Sevens tournament, will raise the profile of the women's game on a global scale," IRB chairperson Syd Millar said in a statement.

"Rugby World Cup Sevens 2005 held in Hong Kong was the fourth RWC Sevens and its outstanding success underlined the importance of this tournament in world Rugby and the continuing global participation and support for Rugby Sevens," said Millar.

"A capacity 120 000 fans attended over the three competition days, while the event was broadcast to over 450m homes, breaking all previous Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament records.

Over 10m hits were recorded on the tournament's official website and these figures highlight the global growth in Rugby Sevens," added Millar.

The 2005/06 IRB Sevens Series, which underpins Rugby World Cup Sevens, is also breaking records. The coverage of the series on television , including the IRB's weekly show Total Rugby, is experiencing significant expansion and it currently reaches upwards of 150m homes in 135 countries through 29 broadcasters.

"To highlight the growth of Sevens, one of the of the key recommendations of the IRB Strategic Plan for Women's Rugby developed last year was the introduction of a Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens with the aim of providing an elite level of women's Sevens tournament which will raise the profile of the Women's Game on a global scale.

It is the first time that there has been a major focus on the women's game and the introduction of an integrated tournament is not just an exciting development for Women's rugby, but also Rugby Sevens, " said Millar.

- AP