Singapore, Thursday, October 18, 2012 — The Singapore leg of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series will double up as a qualifier for the International Rugby Board’s Rugby Sevens World Cup. The tournament will be held in Singapore from November 2nd to 4th, in parallel with the Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) International Rugby 7s.

The Singapore Sevens will be held on Friday, November 2nd, and Saturday, November 3rd, from 8am to 5pm on both days. The finals to be played on November 3rd, from 4pm.

Including the SCC 7s matches, rugby fans can expect over 100 games of 7s rugby to be played over that weekend.

The three nations that finish top in the Singapore Sevens will qualify to represent Asia at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow in 2013. In the running for the top three slots will be HSBC Asian Sevens Series 2012 champions Hong Kong and perennial front runners Japan, South Korea and China.

Hosts Singapore, together with Guam, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand, will also take part in what will be the first international rugby 7s event in Singapore since 2006.

Said Singapore Rugby Union president, Low Teo Ping: “We are very glad that the Asian Rugby Football Union has recognised the work done by the Singapore Cricket Club, and also Singapore Rugby’s past experience with the International Rugby Board’s Sevens World Series to give us the opportunity to be part of the wider HSBC Asian Sevens Series, and more importantly to hold a Rugby Sevens World Cup qualifier right here in Singapore.

“A lot of parties have been involved in this success, and we are looking to work with the likes of the Singapore Sports Council, who have been valuable in their support of this event, and in contributing their expertise to make this happen, and the Singapore Cricket club to ensure this is a long term association,” added Mr Teo.

The SCC 7s club competition will run across three days from Friday, November 2nd, to Sunday, November 4th. The finals will be played from 6pm on the Sunday.

“The SCC 7s has grown from a local tournament for amateur club teams from Malaysia and Singapore to a world class event which is one of the world’s strongest club 7s tournaments. The decision to hold The HSBC Asian Sevens Series’ Singapore Sevens and Rugby World Cup Sevens Qualifier in parallel with the historic 65th SCC 7s is a vote of confidence for the SCC 7s from the governing body of rugby,” noted organising committee chairman Peter ‘Stitch’ Hutton.

The SCC 7s will see the appearance of first timers Northland, who are currently competing in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship. The Western Province Rugby Institute, which feeds the professional South African Stormers team, will also be one to watch, as will Rugby Ecosse from Scotland and the current holders of the tournament, Davata, from Fiji.

Tana Umaga, one of New Zealand’s most celebrated All Blacks captains and current coach of the North Harbour national provisional team in New Zealand, will be in Singapore during the week of the 7s as its ambassador to run a series of coaching clinics for local rugby players aged 13 to 18.

This will include the annual Singapore Cricket Club 7s Schools coaching clinic on November 1st at the Padang, where Umaga will team up with current Singapore Rugby Union technical director Inoke Afaki, an ex teammate of Umaga’s, and the former Tongan national captain to lead coaches from all the participating SCC 7s teams to conduct a coaching clinic for some 300 local school rugby players.

SCC 7s teams (subject to change)
1. UNSW Randwick (Australia)
2. Cottesloe (Australia)
3. Palmyra (Australia)
4. East Arnhem (Australia)
5. Casuarina Cougars (Australia)
6. Sunnybank (Australia)
7. Davata (Fiji)
8. Naptha Pyrenees (France)
9. Western Province Rugby Institute (South Africa)
10. Swedish Vikings (Sweden)
11. SCC (Singapore)
12. Penguins (United Kingdom)
13. Flying Kukris (United Kingdom)
14. Rugby Ecosse (United Kingdom)
15. Tamariva (Japan)
16. Kenya Impala (Kenya)
17. NS Wanderers (Malaysia)
18. COBRA (Malaysia)
19. Ponsonby (New Zealand)
20. Northland (New Zealand)

HSBC Asian Sevens Series Singapore Sevens teams
1. China
2. Guam
3. Hong Kong
4. Indonesia
5. Japan
6. Kazakhstan
7. Korea
8. Malaysia
9. Philippines
10. Singapore
11. Sri Lanka
12. Thailand