The Vodafone Fijian sevens team have qualified for next year’s Rugby World Cup Sevens at the AT&T Park in San Francisco. This was after they were among the eight quarter-finalists from the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Russia and have automatically qualified.

This was confirmed by World Rugby indicating there would be three aspects to the qualification process with teams qualified by virtue of their finish at RWC Sevens 2013 in Moscow, via the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2016/17 or through regional competitions.

MEN’S COMPETITION

The eight quarter-finalists from Moscow 2013 are pre-qualified, along with 2018 hosts USA. These are New Zealand, England, Fiji, South Africa, Wales, Australia and France. The top four nations from the World Rugby Sevens Series 2016/17– excluding these pre-qualified nations – will qualify for RWC Sevens 2018.

The remaining 11 places will be filled by teams through regional competitions from June 2017 to April 2018 as follows: Europe (2 teams), Asia (2 teams), Africa (2 teams), North America (1 team), South America (2 teams), Oceania (2 teams)

WOMEN’S COMPETITION

The four semi-finalists from Moscow 2013 are pre-qualified in New Zealand, Canada, Spain and USA. The top four nations from the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series 2016-17 – excluding these pre-qualified teams – will qualify for RWC Sevens 2018.

The remaining eight places will be filled by teams through regional competitions from June 2017 to April 2018 as follows: Europe (2 teams), Asia (2 teams), Africa (1 team), North America (1 team), South America (1 team), Oceania (1 team)

Edited by Ranoba Baoa