Ahead of the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco, World Rugby Chairmain Bill Beaumont is hoping this is the event that can broaden the sport’s appeal globally.
With the tournament being held in the United States for the first time, the three-day 40-team event will give American sports fans the the type of live exposure to the game that they’ve never had before.
Here are Beaumont’s comments in full:
Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 will be a ground-breaking and spectacular event that will write another exciting chapter in the remarkable sevens success story.
We awarded our most prestigious sevens event to the USA because we know that it is much more than a nation with simply rugby potential, but a nation with a growing, thriving and engaged rugby audience.
We awarded our most prestigious sevens event to the USA because we know that it is much more than a nation with simply rugby potential, but a nation with a growing, thriving and engaged rugby audience.
And what a stage we have – one of the world’s most iconic sporting venues in a famous sports-loving city. The stage is set for a very special and innovative tournament – the biggest Rugby World Cup Sevens, the most digitally-engaged, most viewed, and we hope the most competitive Rugby World Cup Sevens to date.
The stars of sevens will shine in the USA’s Golden City and we look forward to three days of world-class rugby sevens that will further the reach and appeal of rugby across the nation and around the globe.
The tournament begins Friday at 10 a.m. PT when Fiji will face Spain’s women’s teams will face off.
