Cape Town Sevens faces uncertain future

The Cape Town Sevens faces an uncertain future as World Rugby looks to realign its entire HSBC World Sevens Series over the next few months.

While for years the Sevens was the showpiece tournament om the World Series circuit, winning several awards for the best run tournament, the damage inflicted by World Rugby’s ill-thought tournament schedule for September’s World Cup Sevens and a host of other changes put Cape Town firmly in a precarious position with massive changes coming to the circuit.

While Cape Town doesn’t seem to be in danger of losing its status as a World Series event, the reality is that three events will be cut from the circuit at the end of the current season and this has heightened tension around every tournament across the globe.

This past weekend the three days of Sevens netted only 71 000 fans in the three days - a far cry from the pre-pandemic Sevens sold out days where tickets were snapped up in minutes.

To be fair the tournament was on a weekend where the Heineken Champions’ Cup games were being played, and many people may have rather opted for World Cup Sevens tickets rather than do both tournaments three months apart. But the damage was clear as only 9000 people attended day one and the introduction of the Women’s tournament has diluted the success of Cape Town’s event as well.

Still, the biggest blow was the poor scheduling and general unhappiness among fans on the way the World Cup was run, where the Blitzboks were in action after 10pm and the knockout format reduced the tournament to a poor reflection of what was always a stellar event.

How long it takes until the crowds return and Cape Town becomes the showpiece event on the circuit again waits to be seen.

World Rugby’s hopes of growing the game are not being helped by their own “pat ourselves on the back” attitude when it comes to the World Cup and not a word has been uttered on whether or not changes will be made before the next World Cup.

But for now, the sweeping changes in the Series - where 16 teams will be cut to 12, a challenger circuit will also be established and ten tournaments will be cut to seven looms large over every side.

This is also why it is important for teams to make the most of the tournaments and ensure they qualify, with Kenya being in real danger currently of falling off the circuit if their current form continues.

The tournaments most in danger of being cut include Singapore, Sydney, Hamilton and Toulouse, with the “crown jewels” of Hong Kong and Dubai likely to stay while Los Angeles seems to be safe because World Rugby is keen to grow the game there and Vancouver is very popular among the players.

The seventh tournament is likely to be a Grand Finale tournament with the top eight mens and women’s teams coming together to end the season on a high.