World Rugby has unveiled a new logo and website for the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament to be held at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Using the iconic Golden Gate bridge inset into the existing World Rugby logo, tournament organizers hope to capture the imagination of the American public following the success of the recently completed Olympic 7s in Brazil.
Like its 15-a-side counterpart the sevens World Cup takes place every four years. Originally scheduled to take place in between the four-year World Cup XVs cycle, the sevens tournament has now been adjusted to to account for the Olympic tournament and will take place in 2018 rather than 2017. The last Rugby World Cup Sevens was at Moscow in 2013, a thoroughly disappointing tournament that saw little build-up in the media, poor attendance, and dreadful weather leading to broadcasting issues.
Where the Olympic tournament is restricted to just 12 teams each for men and women, the World Cup will include 24 men’s and 16 women’s teams. Nine teams from the men’s side and five from the women have already qualified via their placement at the 2013 tournament. The remaining spots will be determined both through the 2016-17 HSBC Sevens Series and finally be regional qualification events held from June 2017 through April 2018.
The tournament is set to take place in July 2018, with exact dates still to be confirmed. Tickets will go on sale in 2017. A detailed qualification process can be seen here.