Dubai: Rugby’s Road to Rio starts at the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens this weekend with round one of the 2015/16 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series kicking off on Thursday.
Eleven men’s and women’s teams have already qualified for rugby’s return to the Olympic Games after what would have been a 92-year hiatus by the time the tournament takes place in Rio de Janiero, Brazil next August.
All that remains is for the 12th and final berths to be decided via a final Olympic qualification tournament to be held next June.
But in the meantime all sides will be using this year’s series to prepare for sports’ ultimate stage.
Philippe Bourdarias, general manager of competitions at World Rugby, said as a result of the Olympic factor, this would be the biggest series yet.
“This is a very exciting time for the game as Dubai marks the start of the Road to Rio,” he said at the pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday. “Rugby’s re-inclusion into the Olympics has had a massive impact on the game and this is therefore a significant opportunity to grow.
“I think everybody at World Rugby and all its stakeholders are working hard to make sure we catch this opportunity and put on a great Olympic Games, but also keep momentum going after the games and build upon the exposure generated in order to grow the game further.
“That’s why the series is so important, as it showcases the sport year-after-year. And this year’s series in particular, is the biggest sevens series ever.
“First of all, we have ten destinations [in the men’s series, and four in the women’s] with new iconic cities; Paris, Sydney, Vancouver, Singapore and Cape Town, and we have new broadcasters offering even more TV exposure to the game. We also have confidence from commercial partners that is very encouraging, and we think this series will break new ground.”
Due to the Olympic factor, Bourdarias added that many 15s players will be heading into the shorter format over the course of the season in order to add a gold medal to their trophy cabinets.
Most notably, Dubai defending champions South Africa have centre Juan de Jongh and scrum half Francois Hougaard joining their ranks from the 15s outfit and Australia have a similar convert in winger Henry Speight.
“It will be interesting to see stars of 15s play in the series this year in preparation for the Olympics and this will add to the attractiveness of the series,” said Bourdarias, with the likes of New Zealand’s World Cup winning centre Sonny Bill Williams also expected to take the plunge and here in Dubai this weekend as a non-playing observer.
“We are very excited to begin the series in Dubai, which has traditionally been one of the biggest events on the series and I’m sure it will be a great start to a very important year,” he added.
